BV  3265 

/t39 

1882 

Taylor, 

Will: 

Lam,  1821- 

-1902. 

Ten  years  of 

self-supportin 

missions  in 

India 

TEN  YEARS 


SELF-SuppoRTm&  Missions 


IN  INDIA. 


/ 

ILLIAM    TAY 


BY   WILLIAM    TAYLOR 


Author  of  "  Seven  Years'  Street  Preaching  in  San  Francisco,"  "  Chrj5 

TiAN  Adventures  in  South  Africa,"  "  Four  Years' 

Campaign  in  India,'*  etc.,  etc. 


PRINTED    FOR   THE   AUTHOR. 


NEW  YORK: 
PHILLIPS    &     H  U  N  T  = 

80o    BROADWAY. 

1882. 


PREFACE. 


I  HAVE  in  this  writing  given  a  brief  illustra- 
tive exhibit  of  the  principles  and  progress  of 
the  general  missionary  movement  under  the 
auspices  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  mission- 
ary societies;  and  have  proceeded  more  at 
length  with  a  statement  and  vindication  of  the 
peculiar,  but  nevertheless  scriptural,  principles 
and  methods  underlying  my  Self-supporting 
Missions. 

'No  event  of  my  life  strikes  me  as  more  prov- 
idential than  the  unexpected  existence  of  this 
book.  It  comes  just  in  the  nick  of  time  to 
save  my  Self-supporting  Missions  from  a  de- 
structive flank  movement.  Having  no  ill-feel- 
ing against  any  person,  I  have  not  been  writing 
about  persons  but  about  principles,  which  in- 
volve, by  their  proper  application  or  other- 
wise, the  salvation,  or  criminal  neglect,  of 
millions  of  souls ;  hence  offer  no  apology  for 
manifest  anxiety  and  earnestness  in  the  ex- 
pression of  my  honest  convictions. 

William  Taylob. 

New  York,  July  3,  1882. 


PRIJcTC 

THSOLOGIOilL 

CONTENTS 


I. 

PAGB 

Prophecy 9 


II. 
Peepaeation 10 

III. 

Official     Testimony     to    the    Progress     op 
Missions 15 

IV. 

General  Observations  on  Missions 23 

V. 

Collateral  Agencies  and  Resources  Prepar- 
ing the  Way  of  the  Lord 36 

VI. 
Gospel     Commissariat     Principles     and    Re- 
sources       44 


vi  Contents. 

VII. 
Healthy    Harmonious    Relationship    of    the 
Various  Methods  of  Missionary  Work  . .     60 

vni. 

St.  Paul's  Method  of  Missionary  Work 66 

IX. 

Personal    Preparation   for    Founding   Self- 
supporting    Missions 92 

X. 

Organization  of  Methodism  in  Bombay 117 

XI. 

Three  Years  of  Personal  Pioneering 138 

XII. 

First  Session  of  the  South  India  Conference.  149 

XIII. 
Sixth  Session  of  the  South  India  Conference.  167 

XIV. 

School- WORK  of  South  India  Conference....  208 


Contents.  vii 

XV. 
Missionary  Character  of  our  Self-supporting 

Missions 214 

Points   of   Comparison    between   the  North 

AND  the  South  India  Conferences 243 

XVI. 
Passing    Peep    at    the    Outlook    in     South 

America 251 

Present  Force  at  the  Front 295 

xvn. 

Transit  Fund 299 

xvm. 

Orphanages 312 

The    Telugu  Mission 316 

CoLAR    Orphanage 330 

Christian    Periodical    Literature    in    South 

India   Conference 338 

Seamen's  Work  in  Calcutta 340 

Indian  Languages 345 

India    Camp-meetings 350 

XIX. 
Administrative  Embarrassments 355 


Vlii  COJS^TENTS. 

XX. 

The  PomTS  not  to  be  Considered 379 

XXI. 

Sphere  op  the  two  Missionary  Methods  Illus- 
trated    395 

XXII. 

New  Departure  Tested  before  Trusted 417 

XXIII. 

The  "Alleged  Self-supporting  Conference".  436 

Allahabad  Church  Debt 437 

The  Macallister  Will  Case 440 

Alternation   between  Principles   "One  and 

Two" 443 

XXIV. 

Conclusions  and  Suggestions 448 

Appendix 481 


PEIHCETOIT 


SELF-SUPPORXmG  MISSIOIS. 


PROPHECY. 


MissiONAEY  work,  like  railroading,  requires 
a  vast  initiative  outlay  of  mind,  muscle,  and 
money,  before  any  commensurate  results  can 
be  realized.  Tkus,  Isaiali  heard  a  voice  "cry- 
ing in  tlie  wilderness,  ^Prepare  ye  tlie  way 
of  tlie  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert  a  high- 
way for  our  God.  Every  valley  shall  be  ex- 
alted, and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be 
made  low:  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made 
straight,  and  the  rough  places  plain  :  and  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all 
flesh  shall  see  it  together.' "  Heavy  grading — 
blasting,  tunneling,  leveling  down  the  mount- 
ains and  hills,  and  filling  up  the  valleys,  to  pre- 
pare a  highway  for  the  King,  where  all  the 
redeemed  shall  walk  and  witness  and  work : 
"  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed, 
and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together."  It  must  be  so, 
"  For  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it." 


10  Self-Supporting  Missions. 


11. 
PREPARATIO:^^. 

1.  The  grand  preparatory  work  accom- 
plislied  by  tlie  Missionary  Societies.  The  mag- 
nitude of  the  undertaking,  tlie  value  and  ex- 
tent of  tlie  initiative  work  now  progressing, 
and  tlie  widening  sweep  of  its  influence,  are 
all  alike  immeasurable. 

The  most  difficult  languages  have  to  be  mas- 
tered by  the  pioneer  missionaries  before  the 
work  of  grading  down  the  mountains  and  hills 
can  be  commenced. 

In  India,  for  example,  in  a  population  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty-two  millions,  twenty-three 
different  languages,  besides  many  dialects,  are 
spoken  by  as  many  different  nations.  To  mas- 
ter any  one  of  those  languages  is  a  life-work 
for  a  man  beginning  at  the  age  of  twenty-five 
years. 

In  a  monthly  meeting  of  missionaries,  in  Cal- 
cutta, I  heard  the  statement  made,  and  admit- 
ted to  be  a  fact,  that  only  a  minority  of  foreign 
missionaries  become  effective  preachers  in  the 
Indian  languages. 


Preparation.  11 

An  earnest  missionary  in  North  India,  hav- 
ing spent  some  years  in  the  study  of  the  Hin- 
dustani language,  was  one  day  preaching  in  the 
open  air  to  a  promiscuous  crowd  of  Hindus 
and  Mohammedans,  about  heaven — asmani  ja 
han — the  heavenly  world.  In  his  discourse  he 
tried  to  quote  the  assuring  declaration  of  one 
who  had  been  there:  "In  my  Father's  house 
are  many  mansions."  The  Hindustani  word 
for  mansion  is  '^  makkhan,"  their  word  for  but- 
ter is  makkhan.  The  two  words  are  alike,  with 
the  difference  of  an  accent.  He  meant  to  say, 
"  Mere  Bap  ke  ghar  men  bahut  makkhan  hain," 
but  said,  "  Mere  Bap  ke  ghar  men  bahut  mak- 
khan hain ; "  that  is,  "  In  my  Father's  house  " 
there  is  much  butter. 

A  Madras  missionary  told  me  about  a  ridicu- 
lous mistake  made  by  one  of  their  most  learned 
men  in  that  city.  He  had  been  selected,  above 
all  others,  as  the  most  competent  man  among 
them  to  translate  a  number  of  our  hymns  into 
the  Tamil  language,  and  compile  a  Tamil  hymn 
book  for  the  use  of  their  native  Churches.  In 
rendering  the  first  line  of  that  grand  hymn  of 
Charles  Wesley,  "  O  for  a  thousand  tongues, 
to  sing,"  he  made  an  egregious  blunder  that 
passed  through  a  number  of  editions  of  the 


12  SELF-SuppoRTma  Missions. 

book,  and  was  sung  for  years  before  they  de- 
tected tlie  mistake.  In  the  Tamil  language 
the  word  for  tongues  and  the  word  for  sau- 
sages are  very  much  alike.  So  for  several 
years  the  translator  had  the  missionaries  and 
their  native  congregations  piously  singing  "  O 
for  a  thousand  sausages,  to  sing ! "  Strange  to 
say,  the  ridiculous  thing  coincided  exactly  with 
a  Mohammedan  slander  against  Christianity 
with  which  they  had  been  long  familiar,  namely, 
that  drinking  brandy  and  eating  pork  are  dis- 
tinguishing characteristics  of  the  Christians. 
So  the  natives,  who  knew  the  meaning  of  the 
word,  seemed  to  take  it  for  granted  that  it  was 
all  right,  and  hence,  that  the  Christians  wanted 
a  thousand  sausages  for  a  song. 

These  are  merely  illustrative  specimens  of  hun- 
dreds of  similar  mistakes  that  every  successful 
missionary  is  liable  to  make,  as  a  part  of  the 
cost  of  his  education  in  Oriental  language  and 
lore. 

The  man  who  is  unduly  fearful  of  making 
such  blunders,  loses  his  time  shivering  on  the 
brink,  and  fails  to  master  the  language ;  while 
the  man  who  dashes  in,  makes  mistakes,  finds 
out  where  the  laugh  of  the  criticising  na- 
tives comes  in,  and  makes  his  corrections  as  he 


Preparation.  13 

proceeds,  lie  is  the  man  wlio  masters  tlie  situa- 
tion. 

Thus  many  a  faithful  missionary  has  spent 
his  missionary  life-time  in  mastering  a  language, 
translating  a  few  books  of  the  Bible  into  the 
language  he  has  mastered,  and  in  educating  a 
few  hundreds  of  heathens  to  read  the  Script- 
ures. In  all  those  years  of  patient  toil  he  bap- 
tizes but  a  few  scores  of  converts  from  heathen- 
ism, and  they  from  the  poorest  and  least  influ- 
ential classes.  In  the  heat  of  his  struggle, 
while  anticipating  the  high  noon  of  success, 
his  sun  sinks  suddenly  beneath  its  western 
horizon.  His  wife  and  children  are  left  in 
darkness  and  desolation  ten  thousand  miles 
from  kindred  and  home. 

A  paragraph  in  the  papers  half  as  long  as 
your  finger  announces  the  fact  that  the  rev- 
erend missionary  is  dead. 

As  soon  as  a  suitable  selection  can  be  made, 
a  hero  of  kindred  spirit  is  sent  to  the  field  thus 
vacated.  With  fresh  faith  and  zeal  he  takes 
up  the  work  with  the  facilities  furnished  by 
his  predecessor,  and  led  on  by  gleams  of  the 
coming  "  glory  of  the  Lord,"  he  wears  out  his 
life  and  dies,  and  quietly  retires  to  his  rest  in 
heaven. 


14  Self-Suppoeting  Missioij'S. 

Thus  hosts  of  holy  men  have  spent  their 
lives  in  "  preparing  the  way  of  the  Lord." 

The  friends  at  home  critically  examine  the 
missionary  reports,  and  note  the  small  numer- 
ical returns  of  converts  from  the  ranks  of  hea- 
thenism year  by  year,  and  feel  the  chill  of  an 
awful  mist  of  doubt  and  darkness ;  and  many 
who  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  have  been  pay- 
ing twenty-six  cents  per  year  to  help  the  Sav- 
iour of  men  to  prepare  the  way,  and  evangelize 
the  nations,  report  a  failure  of  the  whole 
concern. 

But  the  heroic  hosts  of  missionaries  of  all  the 
missionary  Churches  have  gone  steadily  on  with 
their  great  work,  until  the  Bible,  mainly  through 
their  agency,  with  the  material  aid  of  the  Bible 
Societies,  has  been  translated  and  printed  into 
more  than  two  hundred  languages;  besides 
tomes  of  other  Christian  literature,  with  school 
books  by  the  ton,  and  schools  numbered  by 
thousands.  No  failure,  but,  for  the  outlay  of 
men  and  money,  the  grandest  success  of  the 
centuries. 


Progress  of  Missions.  15 


III. 

OFFICIAL  TESTIMONY  TO  THE  PROGRESS  OF 

MISSIONS. 

To  give  further  light  on  this  subject,  and  to 
checkmate  the  slanders  of  infidel  travelers,  I 
will  here  copy — as  an  illustration  of  the  general 
progress  of  missions — (from  William  Boyce's 
"Statistics  of  Missions,")  the  following  state- 
ment exhibiting  the  Moral  and  Material  Prog- 
ress and  Condition  of  India,  ordered  by  the 
British  House  of  Commons  to  be  printed,  April 
28,  1873,  in  the  Parliamentary  Blue-book: 

Number  of  Societies,  Missionaries,  axd  Stations. 
The  Protestant  Missions  of  India,  Burmah,  and  Cey- 
lon, are  carried  on  by  thirty-five  Missionary  Societies, 
and  now  employ  the  services  of  606  foreign  missiona- 
ries, of  whom  551  are  ordained.  They  are  widely  and 
rather  evenly  distributed  over  the  different  presiden- 
cies, and  they  occupy  at  the  present  time  522  principal 
stations,  and  2,500  subordinate  stations.  The  entire 
presidency  of  Bengal,  from  Calcutta  to  Peshawar,  is 
well  supplied  with  missionaries,  and  they  are  numer- 
ous in  the  southern  portion  of  the  Madras  presidency. 
The  various  missions.in  Calcutta,  Bombay,  and  Mad- 
ras, are  strong  in  laborers,  and  almost  all  the  principal 
towns  of  the  empire  have  at  least  one  missionary. 


16  Self-Supporting  Missiojs^s. 

A  great  impulse  was  given  to  the  efforts  of  those  so- 
cieties by  the  changes  in  the  public  policy  inaugurated 
by  the  Charter  of  1833,  and  since  that  period  the  num- 
ber of  missionaries,  and  the  outlay  on  their  missions, 
have  continued  steadily  to  increase. 

In  1852  there  were  459  missionaries  in  India  at  320 
stations,  and  in  1872  the  number  of  missionaries  was 
increased  to  606,  and  of  stations,  522. 

Various  Forms  op  Labor. 
The  labors  of  foreign  missionaries  in  India  assume 
many  forms.  Apart  from  their  special  duties  as  pub- 
lic preachers  and  pastors,  they  constitute  a  valuable 
body  of  educators ;  they  contribute  greatly  to  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  native  languages  and  literature,  and  all 
who  are  resident  in  rural  districts  are  appealed  to  for 
medical  help  for  the  sick. 

Knowledge  of  Native  Languages. 

No  body  of  men  pays  greater  attention  to  the  study 
of  the  native  languages  than  the  India  missionaries. 
With  several  Missionary  Societies  (as  with  the  India 
Government)  it  is  a  rule  that  the  younger  missionaries 
«hall  pass  a  series  of  examinations  in  the  vernacular  of 
the  district  in  which  they  reside ;  and  the  general  j^rac- 
tice  has  been,  that  all  who  have  to  deal  with  natives 
who  do  not  know  English  shall  seek  a  high  proficiency 
in  these  vernaculars.  The  result  is  too  remarkable  to 
be  overlooked. 

The  missionaries,  as  a  body,  know  the  natives  of  In- 
dia w^ell ;  they  have  prepared  hundreds  of  works  suited 
both  to  schools  and  for  general  circulation,  in  the  fif- 


Peogeess  of  Missions.  17 

teen  most  prominent  languages  of  India,  and  in  several 
other  dialects.  They  are  the  compilers  of  several  dic- 
tionaries and  grammars ;  they  have  written  important 
works  on  the  native  classics  and  philosophy ;  and  they 
have  largely  stimulated  the  great  increase  of  native 
literature  prepared  in  recent  years  by  educated  native 
gentlemen. 

The  Mission  Presses  and  Publications. 

The  mission  presses  in  India  are  twenty-five  in  num- 
ber. During  the  ten  years  between  1852  and  1862,  they 
issued  1,634,940  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  chiefly  single 
books  ;  and  8,604,033  tracts,  school  books,  and  books 
for  general  circulation.  During  the  ten  years  between 
1862  and  1872  they  issued  3,410  new  works  in  thirty 
languages ;  and  circulated  1,315,503  copies  of  books 
of  Scripture,  2,375,040  school  books;  and  8,750,129 
Christian  books  and  tracts. 

Missionary  and  Anglo- vernacular  Schools. 

The  missionary  schools  of  India  are  chiefly  of  two 
kinds,  purely  vernacular  and  Anglo-vernacular  schools. 
The  former  are  maintained  chiefly,  but  not  exclusively, 
in  country  districts  and  small  towns  ;  the  education 
given  in  them  is  confined  pretty  much  to  reading,  writ- 
ing, geography,  arithmetic,  and  instruction  in  simple 
religious  works,  such  as  the  "Peep  of  Day."  In  the 
Anglo-vernacular  schools  a  much  higher  education  is 
given,  not  only  in  those  subjects  which  are  taught  in 
English,  but  in  those  in  which  the  vernacular  is  em- 
ployed ;  a  higher  knowledge  even  of  the  vernacular 
languages  is  imparted  in  these  schools  than  is  usually 


18  SELF-SuPPORTINa  Missiois-s. 

given  in  purely  native  schools.  These  schools  are  most 
in  demand  in  country  towns,  in  the  presidency  cities, 
and  in  the  districts  immediately  around  them. 

Bengal  has  long  been  celebrated  for  its  English 
schools,  and  the  missionary  institutions  in  Calcutta  still 
hold  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  system  and  means  of  ed- 
ucation generally  available  to  the  young  Hindus  of 
that  city.  All  the  principal  missionary  institutions 
teach  up  to  the  high  standard  of  the  entrance  examina- 
tion in  the  three  universities  of  India,  and  many  among 
them  have  a  college  department  in  which  students  can 
be  led  on  through  the  two  examinations  for  B.  A.  and 
even  up  to  the  M.  A.  degree. 

Tkaining  Colleges  and  Zenana  Schools. 

In  addition  to  the  work  of  these  schools  it  should  be 
noted  that  several  Missions  maintain  training  colleges 
for  their  native  ministers  and  clergy,  and  training 
institutions  for  teachers.  These  colleges  and  institu- 
tions are  85  in  number,  and  contain  1,618  students. 

The  training  institutions  for  girls  are  28  in  number, 
with  567  students. 

An  important  addition  to  the  efforts  made  on  behalf 
of  female  education  is  seen  in  the  Zenana  schools  and 
classes,  which  are  maintained  and  instructed  in  the 
houses  of  Hindu  gentlemen.  These  schools  have  been 
established  during  the  last  sixteen  years,  and  now  num- 
ber 1,300  classes,  with  1,997  scholars,  most  of  whom 
are  adults.  Of  these,  938  classes,  with  1,523  scholars, 
are  in  Bengal  and  the  North-west  provinces.  The  ef- 
fort has  not  yet  much  affected  the  other  provinces  of 
India. 


Progress  of  Missions.  19 

Increase  in  the  Schools. 

The  great  progress  made  in  these  missionary  schools, 
and  the  area  which  they  occupy,  will  be  seen  from  the 
following  fact :  They  now  contain  60,000  scholars  more 
than  they  did  twenty  years  ago.  The  figures  are  as 
follows  :  In  1852  the  scholars  numbered  81,850,  and  in 
1872  the  number  was  142,952. 

University  Examinations. 

The  high  character  of  the  general  education  given 
in  the  college  department  of  these  institutions  may  be 
gathered  from  the  following  facts  :  Between  1862 
and  1872,  1,621  students  passed  the  entrance  examina- 
tion in  one  or  other  of  the  three  India  universities  ; 
513  students  passed  the  first  examination  in  arts  ;  152 
took  the  degree  of  B.A.  ;  18  took  the  degree  of  M.A., 
and  6  that  of  B.L. 

A  considerable  proportion  of  the  amount  expended 
upon  education  by  the  missionaries  in  India  is  provided 
for  by  school  fees,  which,  in  recent  years,  have  been 
much  increased.  The  statistical  tables,  however,  do 
not  give  the  exact  amount,  neither  do  they  state  the 
amount  received  from  the  government  grants-in-aid. 
In  the  higher  education  it  is  believed  that  little  expend- 
iture falls  upon  the  Missionary  Societies,  beyond  the 
salaries  of  the  superintending  missionaries. 

Pro  test  Ain?  Converts — Note  of  Increase. 

The  statistical  returns  now  referred  to  state  very 
clearly  and  completely  the  number  of  converts  who 
have  been  gathered  in  the  various  Indian  Missions,  and 
the  localities  in  which  they  maybe  found.     They  show. 


20  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

also,  that  a  great  increase  has  taken  place  in  the  num- 
bers of  these  converts  during  the  last  twenty  years,  as 
might  be  expected  from  the  lapse  of  time,  the  effects 
of  earlier  instruction,  and  the  increased  number  of  mis- 
sionaries employed.  In  1852  the  entire  number  of 
Protestant  native  converts  in  India,  Burmah,  and  Cey- 
lon, amounted  to  22,400  communicants  in  a  community 
of  128,000  native  Christians  of  all  ages.  In  1862  the 
communicants  were  49,688,  and  the  native  Christians 
were  213,182.  In  1872  the  communicants  were  78,494, 
and  the  native  Christians,  young  and  old,  numbered 
318,363. 

Besides  the  foregoing  extracts  from  the  Par- 
liamentary Blue-book,  I  will  copy  part  of  tlie 
testimony  of  the  Bight  Hon.  Lord  Laurence, 
late  Governor-general  of  India,  taken  from  a 
speech  he  delivered  at  the  meeting  of  the  Wes- 
leyan  Missionary  Society,  at  Highbury,  (1870.) 
He  said : 

Notwithstanding  all  that  the  English  people  had  done 
to  benefit  that  country,  the  missionaries  have  done  more 
than  all  other  agencies  combined.  They  have  had  ardu- 
ous and  up-hill  work,  often  receiving  no  encourage- 
ment, and  sometimes  a  great  deal  of  discouragement, 
from  their  own  countrymen,  and  had  to  bear  the  taunts 
and  obloquy  of  those  who  despised  and  disliked  their 
preaching  ;  but  such  has  been  the  effect  of  their  ear- 
nest zeal,  untiring  devotion,  and  the  excellent  example 
which  they  have  universally  shown  to  the  people,  that 


Progeess  oe  Missions.  21 

I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that,  both  individually  and 
collectively,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  great  masses 
of  the  people  are  intensely  opposed  to  their  doctrine, 
as  a  body  they  are  remarkably  popular  in  the  country. 

During  my  career  of  forty  years  in  India,  I  have 
met  in  North-west  India,  and  more  particularly  in  the 
Punjaub,  with  missionaries  of  the  various  denomina- 
tions, and  I  found  them  all  aiming  at  the  one  great 
object  of  converting  the  people,  and  spreading  thu 
Gospel  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

I  can  recollect  the  day  when  a  missionary  could 
not  live  in  the  city  of  Lahore,  and  no  Englishman  could 
resort  there  without  an  armed  escort  ;  but  now  Sun- 
day-schools are  established  in  that  city,  and  mission- 
aries are  looked  ap  to  with  respect  and  gratitude  by 
many  of  the  population. 

I  may  add  tliat  I  have  preached  in  Lahore 
many  times  to  large,  attentive  native  congrega- 
tions in  connection  with  the  Presbyterian  Mis- 
sion there,  under  the  superintendence  of  old 
Dr.  Newton  and  his  sons.  Of  course  there  is 
no  spiritual  illumination  nor  regenerating  power 
in  mere  secular  education,  but  the  foregoing 
facts  indicate  the  marvelous  amount  of  invalu- 
able preparatory  work  done. 

I  may  but  add  to  this  exhibit  the  summary 
statement,  '^that  166  Missionary  Societies  are 
engaged  in  this  great  missionary  movement  in 
foreign  countries/ 


22  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Tlieir  aggregate  receipts  of  money  for  this 
purpose  for  tlie  year  1872  amounted  to  nearly 
ten  millions  of  dollars. 

The  receipts  of  the  Koman  Catholic  Missions 
for  1872,  according  to  the  "Annals  of  the  Prop- 
agation of  the  Faith,"  amounted  to  one  million 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  dollars. 

The  progress  of  missions  between  the  years 
1872  and  1882  doubtless  exceeds  that  of  the 
preceding  decade ;  but  not  having  a  consecutive 
official  exhibit  at  hand,  I  submit  the  foregoing 
as  sufficient  proof  that  the  great  missionary 
movement  of  the  Churches,  so  far  from  being 
a  failure,  is,  as  before  stated,  the  most  marvel- 
ous success  of  all  benevolent  enterprises  of  the 
ages ;  and  yet  this  great  work  is  mainly  but  to 
"prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord,"  and  the  reve- 
lation of  his  glory  in  the  salvation  of  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth. 


Observations  on  Missions.  23 


IV. 

GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  MISSIONS. 

In  my  representation  of  self-supporting  mis- 
sions, I  do  not  wisli  to  minify,  but  give  briefly 
a  broad  exHbit  of  tbe  great  work  being  done 
under  tlie  auspices  of  tlie  Missionary  Societies ; 
and,  in  addition  to  wliat  I  have  just  inserted, 
I  wisli  to  add  tlie  wise  discriminating  observa- 
tions of  Eev.  William  Boyce.     He  was  an  early 
Wesleyan  missionary    in    Soutb    Africa.     He 
wrote  tlie  introduction  to  my  book — "  Christian 
Adventures   in    South   Africa."     He  was    for 
years  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Wesleyan 
Missionary  Society  in  London.     I  insert  most 
of  his  introductory   chapter  to  his  "Statistics 
of  Protestant  Missions,"  headed,  "General  Ob- 
servations on  Missions :" 

1.  The  Mission  work  is  slowly  but  surely  obtaining 
a  favorable  recognition  from  the  public  press.  At  the 
beginning  of  this  century  it  was  looked  upon  by  some 
as  a  dangerous  outbreak  of  puritanical  fanaticism,  and 
by  others  as  a  harmless  but  mistaken  effort,  from  which 
no  practical  good  could  possibly  ensue.  It  is  now,  how- 
ever, a  great  fact.  One  hundred  and  sixty-six  distinct 
Protestant  Missionary-   organizations,    besides   twenty 


24  Self-supporting  Missioi^s. 

leading  Bible  and  Educational  Societies,  all  of  which 
have  their  subordinate  branches  and  auxiliaries,  and 
also  their  agencies  in  every  part  of  the  globe,  cannot 
be  contemptuously  ignored.  On  the  contrary,  with 
the  exception  of  one  or  two  journals,  which  yet  cling 
to  their  seats  "  in  the  chair  of  the  scornful,"  (Psa.  i,  1,) 
our  newspapers  speak  respectfully  of  the  labors  of  our 
missionaries.  One  of  the  best  of  the  weeklies  admits 
that  '^  Civilization  alone  does  not  offer  sufficient  induce- 
ment to  the  savage  permanently  to  change  his  habits. 
The  labor  imposed  by  a  civilized  state  of  life  is  obnox- 
ious to  him  without  a  sufficient  motive  :  "  and  further, 
"  That  Christianity  has  applied  a  lever  powerful  enough 
to  effect  in  a  generation  that  which  has  elsewhere  been 
the  slow  growth  of  ages,  is  a  fact  worthy,  perhaps,  of 
more  consideration  than  it  always  gets."  It  is  true  that 
the  influence  which  animates  the  agents  in  this  great 
undertaking  remains  a  mystery  hid  from  "  the  wise  and 
prudent "  of  this  world,  (Matt,  xi,  25,)  who  evidently 
deem  it  to  be  a  phenomenon  irreconcilable  with  the 
culture  of  the  nineteenth  century.  "  In  these  days  it 
is  not  easy  to  imagine  the  enthusiasm,  or  the  impression 
of  a  Divine  call,  which  should  send  a  young  man  with 
talents,  friends,  and  prospects,  to  some  remote  corner 
of  the  earth,  to  spend  the  best  of  his  days  in  educating 
savages  into  decency,  reason,  and  faith.  It  is  a  matter 
of  fact  that  many  do  feel  themselves  so  called  ;  that 
they  leave  every  thing  and  follow  their  vocation."  So 
speaketh,  and  so  admits,  the  leading  journal,  in  an 
article,  May  16,  1874,  in  which  tardy  justice  is  done  to 
the  labors  of  the  London  Missionary  Society. 

2.  Modern  Missionary  Societies  have  much  to  learn, 


Obseevations  on  Missions.  25 

and  ought  to  profit  from  their  own  experience  of  three 
generations  past,  and  from  the  criticisms  which  their 
labors  have  called  forth  from  all  quarters.  Whether 
censorious  or  friendly,  the  opinions  so  freely  given 
deserve  a  patient  and  serious  consideration.  We  have 
no  right  to  attribute  malignancy  of  motive,  even  in 
cases  where  the  missions  have  been  most  seriously  mis- 
represented. The  error  is  generally  traceable  to  a 
partial  and  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  subject. 
Some  men  finding  the  actual  condition  of  a  mission  to 
differ  greatly  from  the  ideal  which  they  had  been  led 
to  form,  the  reaction  of  feeling  renders  them  not  only 
unable  to  estimate  the  value  of  what  has  been  really 
accomplished,  but  unwilling  to  look  at  the  difiiculties 
which  have  been  overcome.  We  may  be  convinced 
that  the  objects  sought  to  be  attained  by  Missionary 
Societies  are  the  most  important  in  the  world,  and  yet 
be  willing  to  admit  that  the  agencies  employed  are 
fallible  and  imperfect,  and  ready  with  the  apostle  to 
confess,  "We  have  this  treasure  in  earthen  vessels." 
(2  Cor.  iv,  V.) 

3.  Objections  to  the  principle  which  nnderlies  all 
action  by  Missionary  Societies,  as  now  constituted,  are 
not  very  formidable.  Our  Millenarian  friends  think 
that  our  labors  are  merely  for  a  witness,  and  that  we 
must  wait  for  the  second  coming  of  Christ  before  we 
can  hope  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  If,  how- 
ever, our  Lord's  teaching  respecting  the  nature  of  his 
kingdom  be  one  of  gradual  unfolding  and  progress, 
(Mark  iv,  28-33,)  this  idea,  which  the  Millenarians,  like 
many  eighteen  bundred  years  ago,  are  not  "  able  to 
hear,"  (verse  33,)  is  the  justification  of  our  labors. 


26  SELF-SuppoRTmG  Missions. 

4.  The  multiplicity  of  Christian  denominations  is 
regarded  by  many  as  a  serious  hinderance  to  the  propa- 
gation of  Christianity  among  Mohammedan  or  pagan 
nations.  No  doubt  this  is  a  stumbling  block  to  many 
at  home,  as  well  as  to  non-Christians  abroad.  Whether 
it  ought  to  be  so,  or  can  long  remain  so,  is  another  ques- 
tion. The  points  on  which  all  orthodox  Christians  dis- 
agree are  so  trifling,  and  the  differences  among  them 
refer  to  matters  of  such  comparatively  trivial  impor- 
tance, that  it  requires  but  very  small  consideration  to 
understand  the  oneness  amid  the  apparent  variety  ;  and 
the  task  itself  is  one  of  those  intellectual  labors  in  the 
pathway  of  progress  necessary  for  those  for  whom  we 
desire  that  "by  reason  of  use"  they  should  "have  their 
senses  exercised  to  discern  both  good  and  evil."  (Heb. 
V,  14.)  Differences  of  opinion,  and  the  discussions  and 
collisions  of  mind  which  naturally  follow,  appear  to  be 
the  conditions  of  advancement  in  spiritual  knowledge. 
Controversy  has  been  the  means  of  more  fully  unfold- 
ing to  us  truths  that  otherwise  would  have  escaped  our 
observation.  Without  it  theology  would  have  been 
a  stagnant  pool,  instead  of  a  fertilizing  stream.  The 
Churches  have  not  yet  sounded  all  the  depths  of  the 
Holy  Spirit's  revelation  to  us.  With  each  generation 
the  stand-points  from  which  we  study  the  Scriptures 
become  more  elevated,  and  our  mental  and  spiritual 
horizon  more  extended ;  and  thus,  while  the  great 
truths  remain  the  same,  our  conceptions  of  them  are 
deepened  and  enlarged.  Thus  our  theology  avails 
itself  of  the  advanced  culture  of  the  day,  and  makes  it 
a  handmaid  to  piety.  The  members  of  missionary 
Churches  must   of  necessity  in  due  time  go  through 


Observations  on  Missions.  27 

our  experiences,  and  grapple  with  our  mental  and  spir- 
itual temptations  and  trials,  until  they,  with  us,  "all 
come  to  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  meas- 
ure of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ."  (Eph. 
iv,  13.)  We  therefore  lay  no  stress  on  the  proposal  of 
the  late  excellent  and  eloquent  Isaac  Taylor,  in  his 
"New  Model  of  Christian  Missions,"  (8vo,  1827,)  to 
unite  all  Christian  Protestant  Missions  under  one  lead- 
ership, and  thus  present  to  heathendom  the  appearance 
of  an  outward  unity.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  this, 
even  if  desirable,  is  impossible  in  the  present  state  of 
the  Churches.  Meanwhile  the  diversities  of  adminis- 
tration demand  from  all  parties  engaged  in  their  prac- 
tical working,  great  forbearance  and  mutual  considera- 
tion for  each  other.  A  very  useful  discipline,  which, 
rightly  borne,  becomes  a  means  of  grace. 

5.  A  formal  discussion  of  the  entire  question  of 
Christian  missions  has  recently  appeared  in  a  work 
entitled,  "  Christian  Missions  to  wrong  Places,  among 
wrong  Races,  and  in  wrong  Hands,"  (12mo,  Sydney, 
1871.  London,  Nisbet  &  Co.,)  by  Rev.  A.  C.  Geekie, 
D.D.,  Minister  of  St.  Peter's  Presbyterian  Church, 
Bathurst,  New  South  Wales,  and  recently  Moderator 
of  the  Assembly  Presbyterian  Church.  The  author  is 
not  only  an  able  man,  but  a  sincere  friend  to  the  mis- 
sion work  of  the  Christian  Church.  The  censure  of  a 
friend  must  be  met  with  corresponding  candor.  Dr. 
Geekie's  first  proposition  is,  (1.)  that  missions  have  been 
established  in  wrong  places,  and  among  wrong  races  : 
for  instances,  in  Greenland,  Labrador,  West  Africa, 
The  North  American  Indians,  and  in  Polynesia.     The 


28  Self-Supportino  Missions. 

proof  is  the  small  population  of  Greenland  and  Labra- 
dor— the  deadly  climate  of  West  Africa — the  certain 
gradual  decline  and  extinction  of  the  North  American 
Indian  population,  and  of  the  Polynesian  and  Maori 
races.  Our  reply  in  reference  to  Greenland  and  Lab- 
rador is,  that  Hans  Egede,  when  he  commenced  his  mis- 
sion in  1722,  obeyed  the  instincts  of  a  Christian  man  in 
doing  at  once  and  sacrificially  the  duty  that  was  dearest 
to  him  as  a  missionary.  No  other  sphere  was  available. 
We  admit  that  his  sphere  was  a  limited  one,  and  so 
was  Brainerd's  among  the  Delaware  Indians  in  1743  ; 
but  the  history  of  the  labors  and  trials  of  these  devoted 
men  of  God,  and  of  the  divine  support  vouchsafed  to 
them,  has  done  much  to  inspire  and  inspirit  that  mis- 
sionary zeal  which  now  finds  scope  in  China,  India,  and 
Africa.  Surely,  this  is  something  !  With  respect  to 
the  deadliness  of  West  Africa,  great  as  has  been  the 
loss  of  life,  as  much  through  inexperience  as  from  the 
climate  itself,  have  we  no  results  to  correspond  ?  What 
would  have  been  the  condition  of  these  regions  with- 
out the  sacrificial  labors  of  the  missionaries  of  the 
Church  of  England  and  of  the  Wesleyan  Missionary 
Society,  or  those  of  the  Basle  and  North  German  Mis- 
sions ?  Is  it  nothing  that  the  Christian  Church  in  the 
nineteenth  century  can  prove  that  there  are,  in  the  ranks 
of  its  ministry,  men  and  women  ready  to  risk  life,  so 
that  they  may  labor  and  die  for  Christ  ?  Dr.  Geekie 
deems  Africa  generally  to  be  one  of  the  right  places  ; 
but  it  is  impossible  to  reach  the  interior  and  more 
healthy  regions  of  Africa  without  stepping  stones  on 
the  sea  coast.  With  respect  to  the  extinction  of  the 
Polynesian  and  Maori  races,  there  are  two  sides  to  that 


Observations  on  Missions.  29 

question.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  progress 
of  decline  has  been  arrested  ;  but,  if  not,  the  Missions 
to  Polynesia  and  West  Africa  may  be  justified  by  the 
fact  that  at  the  close  of  the  last  century  the  Missionary 
Societies  were  compelled  to  go  to  small  communities 
and  to  unhealthy  countries  because  all  the  greater  com- 
munities peremptorily  excluded  them  :  to  which  we 
may  add  the  remark  of  Dr.  Mullens,  (in  the  Report 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  1872,  page  49,) 
"They"  (the  objectors)  "forget  that  almost  all  the 
great  experiments  and  problems  of  humanity  have 
been  wrought  out  within  small  areas."  It  w^as,  per- 
haps, better  that  "  the  prentice  hand  "  of  the  Christian 
Church  should  be  tried  on  an  impressible  people  in 
the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  than  in  India  or  China. 
If  our  corrupt  civilization  has  conveyed  to  these 
interesting  races  the  seeds  of  death,  the  missionaries 
are  not  to  blame.  They  have  done  all  they  could  to 
mitigate  and  correct  the  evils  arising  out  of  European 
intercourse,  and  they  will  have  their  rew^ard.  Let  us 
not  blame  the  zeal  which  led  the  first  Societies  to 
occupy  Polynesia  and  other  comparatively  unimportant 
localities.  India,  Africa,  and  China  need  not  have  a 
missionary  the  less  because  Polynesia  has  so  many. 

6.  Missionary  Societies  are  beginning  to  feel  as  they 
have  never  felt  before  the  cost  of  their  advanced  mis- 
sions. Expense  increases  with  success.  The  claims  for 
educational  institutions  of  a  superior  sort,  for  build- 
ings, as  schools  and  chapels,  and  the  increased  cost  of 
living,  press  fearfully  upon  the  finances  of  the  various 
societies.  Much  money  has  been  wasted  in  buildings, 
and  the  time  is  come  to  make  a  stand  in  reference  to 


30  SelJ'-Supporting  Missioits. 

this  piece  of  extravagance.  Many  societies  are  begin- 
ning to  see  that  to  build  any  thing,  except  the  modest 
bungalow  of  the  European  minister,  is  a  mistake.  All 
chapels  or  school-rooms  should  generally  be  such  as  the 
natives  themselves  choose  to  erect  at  their  own  cost,  and 
suitable  to  their  reasonable  requirements.  A  wattle 
and  dab,  or  mud  cottage  or  chapel,  or  even  a  grass  hut, 
built  by  the  natives,  and  at  their  own  cost,  is  more 
creditable  to  any  mission  than  large,  commodious  chap- 
els and  school-rooms  built  at  the  expense  of  the  Churches 
at  home.  The  less  property  an  absent  proprietary  has 
the  better  ;  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Com- 
mittee of  a  Missionary  Society  is  an  absentee,  and  that 
the  managers  on  the  spot  are,  from  the  necessities  of 
the  climate,  never  at  one  stay  ;  changes  in  the  personnel 
of  the  mission  being  the  rule.  Neither  should  any 
Missionary  Society,  where  there  is  a  native  Church  and 
congregation,  pay  any  charges  for  cleaning,  repairs, 
chapel-keeping,  etc. :  all  these  should  be  met  by  local 
resources.  For  Missionary  Societies  to  meet  these 
charges  is  to  cherish  and  train  a  pauper  spirit  in  the 
mission  Churches,  and  to  perpetuate  the  feeling  of  de- 
pendence on  foreign  aid. 

7.  On  the  subject  of  a  native  ministry  there  has  been 
much  said  which  is  very  doubtful  in  its  bearing  upon 
the  healthy  condition  of  the  missionary  work.  A 
native  pastor  supj^orted  by  a  Missionary  Society  is  in  a 
false  position.  He  should  look  to  his  own  people  for 
his  salary  ;  and  as  it  is  possible  that  it  may  be  desirable 
to  appoint  native  pastors  before  the  Churches  are  fully 
able  to  take  the  entire  support  of  their  minister,  assist- 
ance might  be  given  in  the  shape  of  a  grant-in-aid  to  a 


Observations  on  Missions.  Si 

pastor  fund,  gradually  diminisliing  in  its  payments  to 
each  Church.  If  native  ministers  are  employed  as 
evangelists,  to  open  out  new  places,  of  course  these  are 
engaged  in  purely  missionary  work,  and  they  would 
naturally  look  to  their  employers,  the  missionaries,  for 
their  support.  A  native  ministry  or  pastorate  sup- 
ported mainly  by  English  funds  is  in  danger  of  becom- 
ing a  great  evil.  With  the  views  of  Dr.  Underhill,  the 
experienced  Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, who  has  had  some  Indian,  and  West  Indian,  and 
West  African  experience  of  missionaries  and  native 
agents,  we  heartily  agree.  His  letter  on  the  subject  is 
dated  June  10th,  1874  :  "I  think  it  highly  expedient 
that  we  should  have  as  little  to  do  with  the  support  of 
native  agents  as  possible.  In  all  cases  pastors  should 
be  supported  by  their  congregations,  and  evangelists 
by  such  funds  as  may  be  raised  on  the  spot,  as  far  as 
practicable.  I  fear  that  in  our  haste  to  spread  as 
widely  as  possible  the  agencies  for  conveying  Divine 
truth  to  the  people  of  a  heathen  or  unevangelical  coun- 
try, we  have  too  hastily  taken  up  individual  converts, 
so  as  to  lessen  the  sense  of  responsibility  among  them- 
selves to  propagate  the  Gospel  they  have  received, 
and  so  from  the  first  the  promotion  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  has  become  too  much  a  question  of  paid  agency, 
instead  of  the  voluntary  action  on  the  part  of  those  to 
whom  the  blessings  of  salvation  have  come.  It  is  true, 
I  think,  that  in  all  cases  where  the  work  of  spreading 
the  Gospel  has  become  the  spontaneous  and  voluntary 
act  of  the  converts,  there  the  truth  had  most  rapidly 
spread  and  the  Word  of  God  taken  the  deepest  and 
strongest  rb5t.     In  th^  Wfest  Indies,  tb*  S^&uth  Sfeas, 


32  SELF-SuppoRTmG  Missions. 

among  the  Karens  of  Burmah,  and  the  aboriginal  tribes 
of  Central  India,  this  has  been  remarkably  the  case. 
It  seems  to  be  the  office  of  Christian  countries  simply 
to  introduce  the  Gosx:)el  into  heathen  lands,  and  then  to 
rely  for  its  further  propagation  and  growth  on  the  ex- 
ertions of  the  indigenous  Christian  population." 

8.  Missionaries  of  the  European  races  are  the  main 
workers  in  the  mission  field ;  upon  them  depends 
(under  God)  the  character  of  the  native  missionaries 
and  other  agencies.  How  young  men  called  of  God  to 
this  work  should  be  trained  is  a  difficult  question.  The 
various  systems  of  private  tuition  under  suitable  minis- 
ters, that  of  college  training  in  company  with  others, 
and  the  extreme  of  no  special  training  at  all,  have  each 
their  advantages  and  the  contrary.  On  the  whole,  the 
men  with  the  most  of  self-help  in  them  make  the  best 
missionaries,  and  the  men  who  naturally  lean  upon 
others  the  worst,  and  hence  it  is  that  our  American 
brethren  are'  specially  adapted  for  this  work.  The 
pushing,  energetic  habits  of  society  in  a  new  country 
prepare  young  men  to  expect  difficulties,  and  to  grapple 
with  them,  without  looking  for  assistance  from  others. 
The  present  self-indulgent  habits  of  the  respectable 
classes  of  English  society  favor  the  growth  of  a  femi- 
nine helplessness,  which  is  in  danger  of  destroying  the 
manliness  of  the  English  character.  In  missionaries 
quality  is  of  far  more  importance  than  number.  Half 
a  dozen  men  with  faculties,  and  of  the  right  sort  of  dis- 
position, are  worth  a  dozen  of  mere  average  men,  who 
just  "  do  duty,"  as  the  phrase  is,  however  conscientious- 
ly that  duty  may  have  been  done.  Most  men  need  a 
passion  for  mission  work  in  order  to  succeed  and  be 


Observations  on  Missions.  33 

happy  in  it.  There  are,  of  course,  some  exceptions, 
where  men  from  a  strong  sense  of  duty  have  accepted 
the  mission  work  allottod  to  them,  and  then,  working 
on  mission  ground,  have  learned  to  love  the  work.  Even 
an  admixture  of  perfunctory  men  with  others  in  the 
same  mission  tends  to  lower  the  standard  of  working 
power.  The  sooner  such  men  are  weeded  out  of  the 
mission  field  the  better.  It  is  very  possible  that  in  in- 
ferior and  less  onerous  positions  at  home  some  places 
may  be  found  for  them,  where  they  may  in  some  small 
degree  "serve  their  generation  after  the  will  of  God." 
9.  The  question  so  often  mooted,  whether  civilization 
must  precede  or  follow  Christianity  in  the  case  of  bar- 
barous tribes,  appears  to  be  a  trifling  with  words  : 
Christianity  is  the  highest  civilization,  applying  itself 
first  to  the  moral  nature  of  the  uncivilized,  influencing 
the  will  to  yield  to  the  power  of  those  great  truths 
which  at  once  excite  the  imagination  and  awaken  the 
long  dormant  conscience.  Then  follow  the  decencies 
and  appliances  of  civilized  life.  The  difiiculty  of  obtain- 
ing access  to  the  intellect  and  the  affections  of  a  savage 
people  has  been  forcibly  j)ut  by  that  deep  thinker  John 
Foster  (in  his  Essay  on  the  Application  of  the  Epithet 
"Romantic":)  "Did  you  ever  listen  to  the  discussion 
of  plans  for  the  civilization  of  barbarous  nations  with- 
out the  intervention  of  conquest  ?  I  have — with  de- 
spair !  "  And  then  he  appends  a  note  which  is  the  key 
to  his  meaning  :  "  I  here  place  out  of  view  that  religion 
by  which  Omnipotence  will  at  length  transform  the 
world."  The  misfortune  of  uncivilized  nations  in  our 
day,  consequent  upon  their  contact  with  our  civiliza- 
tion, is  not  their  unwillingness  to  participate  in  its  ad- 
3 


34  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

vantages,  but  that  our  railway  speed  of  progress  leaves 
no  time  for  its  acclimatization  and  natural  growth 
among  them,  and  that,  meanwhile,  the  weeds  of  our  civ- 
ilization are  more  rapid  in  their  growth  than  its  useful 
plants.  When  our  barbarous  ancestors  appropriated 
the  rich  heritage  of  the  culture  of  the  old  Roman 
world,  they  came  under  its  influence  by  slow  degrees, 
here  a  little  and  there  a  little,  and  thus  the  changes, 
though  almost  imperceptible  in  their  process,  were  per- 
manent, having  become  identified  with  the  national 
growth.  Missionaries  to  uncivilized  people  have  now 
to  watch  and  direct  the  process  of  changes  in  them- 
selves beneficial,  but  incidentally  connected  with  much 
that  is  evil  and  destructive  :  their  main  anxiety  at  such 
critical  periods  of  a  people's  history  is  to  guard  them 
against  the  vices  which  accompany  our  somewhat  cor- 
rupt civilization. 

10.  In  conclusion  :  Let  the  friends  of  Christian  Mis- 
sions beware  lest  by  their  attempts  to  recommend  their 
great  object  to  the  world  at  large,  they  are  unwittingly 
led  to  vulgarize  the  conception  of  the  grand  aim  of  the 
mission  work,  and  thus  lower  it  to  meet  the  material- 
istic views  of  "  the  wise  and  prudent  "  of  this  world. 
That  Christianity  will  lead  to  the  extension  of  trade 
and  a  mutually  beneficial  intercourse  and  comity  of 
nations  now  barbarous  and  unsocial  with  those  which 
are  civilized,  is  true.  This  is  one  of  the  blessings  which 
follow  naturally  in  the  path  of  the  teachings  of  our 
missionaries.  But  this  is  not  our  object.  Christianity 
is  the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  (2  Cor.  v.  19.)  It 
seeks  to  harmonize  the  relation  of  man  to  his  Maker,  to 
send  forth  the  light  of   the  truth   in    the   place   of 


Obsekvatioi^s  on  Missions.  35 

heathen  darkness,  and  to  bring  "  peace  with  God  "  into 
every  troubled  conscience.  In  the  j^rogress  of  this  great 
work  its  agents  expect  to  equalize  to  some  extent  the 
condition  of  humanity,  and  to  raise  the  degraded  races, 
by  imparting  to  all  the  highest  mental  and  moral  culture 
of  which  our  humanity  is  capable.  Nor  are  our  hopes 
chimerical.  We  have  "  a  more'  sure  word  of  prophecy." 
(2  Peter  i,  19.)  "The  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea."  (Isaiah 
xi,  9.) 


36  Self-Supporting  Missions. 


V. 

COLLATERAL  AGENCIES  AND  RESOURCES- 
PREPARING  THE  WAY  OF  THE  LORD. 

1.  The  English  Colonization  System,  in- 
cluding America,  is  a  part  of  a  grand  provi- 
dential programme  for  the  extension  and  estab- 
lishment of  universal  Christian  empire  through- 
out this  world.  God  has  no  complicity  with 
bad  men,  nor  with  the  mistakes  of  good  men, 
but  he  controls  the  forces  resulting  from  both ; 
and  while  he  inspires  and  concurs  in  the  coun- 
sels of  good  men,  he  also  conserves  their  mis- 
takes, and  overrules  the  ambitious  schemes  of 
worldly  wise  men,  and  the  wicked  devices  of 
bad  men  and  devils,  and  lays  the  whole  of 
them  under  contribution  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  purpose  to  rescue  and  save  the 
nations. 

Look  at  your  maps  of  English-speaking 
countries,  read  up  the  history  of  colonial  prog- 
ress, and  pray  for  the  British  nation. 

2.  The  English  Language  is  a  heaven-or- 
dained medium  through  which  God's  chosen 
may  flood  the   nations  with    gospel  light — a 


Collateral  Agei^cies.  37 

language  spoken  by  more  people  than  any 
other,  with  a  diffusion  wide  as  the  commerce 
of  the  world,  with  a  growing  thirst  for  its  ac- 
quisition among  all  maritime  nations. 

It  is  estimated  that  at  least  a  million  of  na- 
tives in  India  speak  the  English  language  as 
accurately  as  do  the  mass  of  English  people. 

3.  The  Commercial  Fleets  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  empire — including  America — have  de- 
posited, and  are  depositing,  along  the  coasts  of 
all  heathen  and  semi-heathen  countries,  vast  re- 
sources in  men,  money  and  merchandise,  bold, 
adventurous  men,  merchant  princes,  common 
traders,  mechanics,  miners,  soldiers,  sailors,  and 
miscellaneous  adventurers  of  all  sorts,  who 
speak  the  English  language,  and  bear  the 
Christian  name. 

Large  numbers  of  these  being  young  men, 
settle  down  in  those  remote  countries,  marry 
native  women,  and  bring  up  families  of  mixed 
blood. 

These  mixed  races  in  Asiatic  countries  are 
called  Eurasians.  With  the  first  syllable  of 
Europe  to  designate  the  paternity,  and  Asian, 
the  maternity,  we  get  the  compound  word  Eu- 
rasian. The  last  census  of  India  reports  about 
one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  of  them  in 


38  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

tlie  Indian  Empire.  Similar  classes  are  found 
in  large  numbers  in  Japan,  Cliina,  Siam,  Bur- 
mah,  and  in  European  and  Asiatic  Turkey; 
also  among  the  various  kindreds  and  tongues 
of  European  nations,  and  of  Central  and 
South  America. 

In  tlie  olden  time  there  was  a  providential 
dispersion  of  the  Jews  among  the  nations,  and 
also  a  very  wide  diffusion  of  the  Greek  lan- 
guage, preparatory  to  the  rapid  spreading  of 
Gospel  light  and  life. 

St.  Paul,  having  a  special  commission  to  the 
Gentiles,  took  in  the  situation,  and  largely 
utilized  those  resources  in  the  establishment 
of  self-supporting  and  propagating  missions 
throughout  the  Roman  world. 

The  dispersion  and  propagation  of  the  En- 
glish-speaking people,  and  the  still  wider  diffu- 
sion of  their  language  throughout  the  world  in 
these  last  days,  furnish  resources  and  agencies 
immeasurably  superior  to  those  of  St.  Paul's 
day,  in  volume,  value,  and  availability,  for  the 
establishment  of  self-supporting  missions  in  all 
the  countries  whither  they  have  gone. 

"  But,"  says  a  returned  missionary,  "  the  great 
mass  of  those  English  people,  and  their  half- 
breeds  in  foreign  countries,  by  their  infidelity 


COLLATEEAL    AgENCIES.  39 

and  by  their  heatlienisli  habits,  antagonize  ns 
at  every  step  and  terribly  obstruct  our  way  of 
access  to  the  natives." 

How  did  so  sad  a  state  of  things  come  to 
pass  ?  I  presume  to  suggest  that  it  is  largely 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Churches  at  home 
failed  to  take  in  the  whole  situation,  hence 
failed  to  utilize,  except  incidentally  in  small 
measure,  the  idigenous  agency  and  resource  the 
Lord  had  thus  adjusted  to  their  hand;  hence 
limited  their  operations  mainly  by  the  measure 
of  their  home  charity  missionary  funds,  and  ap- 
propriately applied  them  to  the  real  objects  of 
charity  in  heathen  countries — the  poorest  classes 
of  the  natives  ;  hence  declined  an  opportunity 
of  gospel  access  to  their  o^vn  kindred  in  heathen 
lands,  and  failed  as  well  to  gain  access  to  the 
well-to-do  classes  of  the  heathen,  neither  being 
objects  of  charity,  and  both  declining  to  asso- 
ciate with  the  outcast  poor  classes,  from  which 
their  Churches  had  been  gathered.  "With  the 
feeble  influence  of  such  native  Churches,  neu- 
tralized by  the  demoralization  of  his  own  de- 
generate neglected  countrymen,  the  heroic  mis- 
sionary works  at  a  great  disadvantage,  which 
should  lead  every  friend  of  missions  to  inquire 
whether  there   are   not   other   jDrinciples  and 


40  Self-Supporting  Missiois^s. 

methods  of  divine  appointment  available  by 
wliich  many  of  those  English-speaking  and 
upper-class  native  opposers  may  be  reached 
and  saved,  and  thus  not  hinder,  but  greatly 
help,  the  present  missionary  movement. 

4.  The  facilities  of  national  intercommu- 
nication give  the  modern  messengers  of  mercy 
a  marvelous  advantage  over  those  of  any  previ- 
ous age.  What  a  small  speck  of  this  globe 
vras  open  to  the  apostles,  and  what  wretched 
modes  of  conveyance  they  had.  On  the  land 
they  had  to  depend  mainly  on  their  own  legs, 
with  a  donkey  relay  occasionally;  at  sea,  on 
unworthy  hulks  that  w^ould  not  be  allowed  to 
carry  passengers  in  our  day.  Their  lives  were 
always  in  jeopardy,  not  to  speak  of  their  poor 
accommodations  for  personal  comfort.  Now 
we  step  aboard  a  floating  palace  and  circum- 
navigate the  globe  in  less  than  half  the  time 
that  St.  Paul  spent  on  a  voyage  from  Caesarea 
to  E-ome. 

In  India  there  are  about  eight  thousand 
miles  of  railway,  so  that  in  a  day  or  two  you 
may  reach  any  great  center  of  Dopulation  in  the 
empire. 

5.  Another  significant  fact  greets  us  on 
this  line,  and  that  is,  the  recent  opening  of  the 


Collateral  Agencies.  41 

nations  to  God's  gospel  messengers.  Fifty 
years  ago  more  tlian  half  the  populations  of  the 
earth  were  locked  in,  and  Protestant  mission- 
aries, at  least,  locked  out.  Now  all  the  nations 
— popish  and  pagan — are  open  to  them;  so 
that  altogether  God  has  put  within  the  grasp 
of  his  Church  in  this  our  day  the  grand  possi- 
bility of  the  speedy  evangelization  of  all  the 
"families,  kindreds  and  nations  of  the  earth." 
The  business  now  is  to  appreciate  the  situation, 
work  with  God  according  to  his  own  clearly 
revealed  principles  and  methods,  utilize  our 
available  resources  at  home  and  abroad,  and 
take  the  world  for  Jesus  within  the  next  thirty 
years. 

The  greatest  drawback  at  the  present  hour 
is  the  superficial  character  of  church  work  in 
Christian  countries.  I  believe  there  is  more  in- 
telligent holiness  in  the  Church  now,  with  a 
wider  diffusion,  than  ever  before  ;  but  we  are 
veiy  far  below  the  standard  of  our  opportuni- 
ties and  responsibility.  If  any  manufacturer  of 
any  sort  should  have  as  much  bogus  shoddy 
and  sham  on  the  market  bearing  his  trade-mark 
as  may  be  found  in  the  popular  Churches  of 
to-day,  it  would  smash  his  business  in  six 
months. 


42  Self-Supporting  Missioi^s. 

Tlie  fact  tliat  tlie  Churcli  lives  and  advances, 
in  spite  of  such  disabilities,  demonstrates  the 
marvelous  conservative  power  of  the  true  gospel 
salt  contained  in  it.  It  is  "the  remnant,  who 
keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and  have  the 
testimony  for  Jesus,"  that  God  uses  to  hold  the 
Church  together  and  make  the  grand  conquests 
she  is  making.  Now,  if  our  church  registers 
were  conformed  as  nearly  as  possible  to  that 
of  "the  general  assembly  and  Church  of  the 
first-born  who  are  written  in  heaven,"  so  that 
all  the  specimens  exhibited  in  the  market 
would  "  be  blameless  and  hannless,  the  sons  of 
God  without  rebuke,  in  the  midst  of  a  crooked 
and  perverse  nation" — ever  seeking  occasions 
of  rebuke,  but  finding  none — the  life  and  char- 
acter of  such,  standing  out  as  beacon  "  lights  " 
along  the  dark  coasts  of  sin;  and  every  one 
holding  forth  "the  word  of  God,"  with  "their 
testimony  for  Jesus,"  to  guide  the  feet  of  the 
perishing  in  the  highway  of  the  King,  then  the 
Advocate  with  the  Father  would  be  able  to 
make  up  his  brief,  and  "  ask  "  and  receive  "  the 
heathen  for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession."  Count- 
less ages  of  preparatory  working  and  waiting 
have  put  these  grand  possibilities  ^vithin  reach 


COLLATEEAL    AgENCIES.  43 

of  the  Churcli  of  Christ  in  this  latter  quarter 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 

O  that  she  would  hearken  to  the  prophetic 
voice  of  the  Spirit,  "  Arise,  shine ;  for  thy  light 
is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon 
thee."  .  .  .  ^' And  the  Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy 
light,  and  kings  to  the  brightness  of  thy  rising." 
.  .  .  "The  abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be  con- 
verted unto  thee,  and  the  forces  of  the  Gentiles 
shall  come  unto  thee."     Isa.  Ix,  1-5. 


44  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 


VI. 

GOSPEL  COMMISSARIAT  PRINCIPLES  AND 
RESOURCES. 

The  Lord  lias  incorporated  into  his  gospel 
system  and  plan  of  work  theee  nis'AisrciAL 
PRINCIPLES,  with  their  appropriate  methods  of 
application.  The  first  two  are  commercial 
principles,  the  third  a  charity  principle. 

Principle  number  one  is  a  pioneer  principle, 
represented  by  the  men  who,  at  their  own  cost, 
without  any  guarantee  of  compensation,  open 
up  new  resources  and  new  industries. 

I  once  saw  a  tunnel  which  had  been  drilled 
and  blasted  through  solid  basaltic  rock,  nearly 
as  hard  as  pig  metal,  into  the  heart  of  a  Cali- 
fornia mountain.  The  work  had  been  executed 
by  a  class  of  hardy  pioneers  bearing  the  name 
of  the  "Live  Yankee  Company."  They  put 
in  three  years  of  solid  work  before  they  had 
any  assurance  that  they  would  "  find  the  color." 
They  finally  "  struck  it  big,"  as  the  miners  ex- 
press a  great  success ;  but  thousands  of  others 
were  equally  industrious  who  did  not  "strike 
it "  at  all.     The  vast  armies  of  prospectors,  in- 


PEmciPLEs  AND  Eesoueces.  45 

ventors,  commercial  explorers  and  pioneers  of 
all  sorts,  wlio  open  up  new  resources  and  new- 
industries  at  their  own  risk,  represent  principle 
number  one. 

The  commercial  prii^ciple,  number  two,  ap- 
plicable to  opened  fields,  proceeds  on  tlie  line 
of  estimated  values,  covering  the  law  of  de- 
mand AND  SUPPLY  : 

1.  In  regard  to  labor  and  compensation. 
2.  In  regard  to  all  varieties  of  commercial 
equivalents. 

Under  the  Gospel  utilization  of  principle 
NUMBER  ONE  the  pioucer  embassador  for  Christ 
pays  his  own  expenses  and  preaches  the  Gospel 
free  of  charge. 

Paul  and  Barnabas  were  gospel  pioneers, 
working  under  principle  number  one.  In  his 
farewell  address  to  the  elders  of  the  Church  at 
Ephesus,  St.  Paul  said  to  them :  "  Eemember, 
that  by  the  space  of  three  years  I  ceased  not 
to  warn  every  one  night  and  day  with  tears."  .  .  . 
"I  have  coveted  no  man's  silver,  or  gold,  or 
apparel.  Yea,  ye  yourselves  know,  that  these 
hands  have  ministered  unto  my  necessities,  and 
to  them  that  were  with  me."     Acts  xx,  31-34. 

Paul  and  Barnabas  had  as  good  a  right  to 
claim  a  support  as  any  other  ministers  called  of 


46  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

God  to  preach  Hs  Gospel.  Paul  said  to  Ms 
traducers  in  Corintli,  "Mine  answer  to  tliem 
that  do  examine  me  is  this :  Have  we  not  power 
to  eat  and  to  drink?" — ^to  demand  a  support? 
''  Have  we  not  power  to  lead  about  a  sister,  a 
wife  ?" — the  right  to  have  families  and  to  re- 
ceive a  support  for  them — "  as  well  as  other  apos- 
tles, and  as  the  brethren  of  the  Lord,  and 
Cephas  ?  Or  I  only  and  Barnabas,  have  not  we 
power  to  forbear  working  ?  Who  goeth  a  war- 
fare any  time  at  his  own  charges?  Who 
planteth  a  vineyard,  and  eateth  not  the  fruit 
thereof?  or  who  feedeth  a  flock,  and  eateth  not 
of  the  milk  of  the  flock."  He  proves  to  them 
that  they  had  a  right  to  demand  a  support  for 
themselves  and  families,  but  adds,  "Neverthe- 
less we  have  not  used  this  power ;  but  suffer  all 
things  lest  we  should  hinder  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.  Do  ye  not  know  that  they  which  min- 
ister about  holy  things  live  of  the  things  of  the 
temple  ?  and  they  which  wait  at  the  altar  are 
partakers  with  the  altar  ?  Even  so  hath  the 
Lord  ordained  that  they  which  preach  the 
Gospel  should  live  of  the  Gospel.  But  I  have 
used  none  of  these  things:  neither  have  I 
written  these  things  that  it  should  be  so  clone 
unto  me :  for  it  were  better  for  me  to  die,  than 


Pkinciples  and  Kesources.  47 

that  any  man  sliould  make  my  glorying  void." 
1  Cor.  ix,  3-15.  Wliy  should  lie  prefer  to 
die  than  cease  to  work  with  his  hands  for  his 
own  support  ? 

Not  because  he  was  so  fond  of  making  tents, 
but  because  he  knew,  by  the  inspiration  of 
God,  and  by  his  own  experience,  as  a  founder 
of  self-supporting  Churches,  that  such  success 
could  not  be  attained  in  any  other  way.  His 
business  was  not  only  to  found  Churches,  but, 
under  a  divinely-appointed  plan,  to  plant  the 
principle  and  develop  the  practice  of  regular 
systematic  giving,  adequate  to  the  permanent 
life  and  responsibilities  of  each  Church.  He 
enjoined,  therefore,  that  every  member  of  each 
Church  should  "lay  by  in  store  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  according  as  the  Lord  had  prospered 
them  "  during  the  preceding  week.  The  giving 
embraced,  as  a  minimum,  the  long-established 
ratio  of  the  tenth  of  net  income,  with  added 
"free-will  offerings,"  "according  as  the  Lord 
had  prospered  them."  This  essential,  but  deli- 
cate and  difficult,  work  can  be  put  into  effective 
operation  quickly,  and  on  a  permanent  basis, 
by  a  pioneer  under  principle  number  one.  But 
a  pastor,  coming  as  a  stranger,  and  undertaking 
this  pioneer  work,  on  which  his  own  support 


48  Self-Supporting  Missioiq-s. 

depends,  is  at  once  confronted  with  tlie  suspi- 
cion tliat  lie  is  after  the  fleece  instead  of  the 
flock.  He  becomes  timid,  and  is  tempted,  and 
starves  himself  and  family  often,  rather  than 
talk  about  money.  His  people  go  into  the  busi- 
ness of  robbing  God,  become  close  and  stingy, 
and  suffer  more  in  their  souls  than  do  their 
preacher  and  his  family  in  their  bodies.  When 
the  preliminary  work  has  been  done  by  the 
pioneer,  then  it  is  easy  for  the  pastor  to  help 
develop  the  principle  of  giving  among  his 
people.  The  application  of  these  principles  is 
one  of  the  most  familiar  experiences  of  my  min- 
isterial life. 

St.  Paul  sustained  himself  under  principle 
number  one  by  making  tents ;  Dr.  Coke,  by  his 
inheritance ;  Mr.  Wesley,  by  his  authorship. 

Most  of  the  pioneer  work  of  Methodism 
iiT  America  has  been  done  on  principle  number 
one,  by  laymen,  and  women,  and  local  preach- 
ers. In  the  cities,  east  and  west,  and  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  the  old 
plan  was  for  a  few  earnest  laymen  to  enter 
every  open  door,  by  establishing  a  weekly 
prayer-meeting,  or  a  little  Sunday-school;  then, 
after  some  preparation,  to  build  a  small  chapel, 
develop  the  work,  hold  a  series  of  special  serv- 


Principles  and  Resources.  49 

ices,  and  have  a  liundred  outsiders  converted 
to  God ;  then  build  up  a  strong  self-supporting 
cliurcli. 

Some  years  ago  Brothers  French  and  Booth 
and  a  few  others  started  a  little  Sunday- 
school  at  Hanson  Place,  in  Brooklyn,  IST.  Y. 
When  that  became  quite  too  lai'ge  for  their 
"hired  room,"  they  went  to  work  and  built  a 
church  edifice.  The  first  Sabbath  after  their 
new  house  of  worship  was  dedicated,  and  for 
three  Aveeks,  I  led  for  them  a  series  of  special 
services,  and  from  the  harvest  of  new  converts 
the  Lord  gave  us  during  that  time,  over  two 
hundred  of  them  joined  the  pioneer  band  of 
John  French  &  Co.,  and  we  launched  Hanson 
Place  Church,  which  took  rank  from  that  time 
as  a  first-class  self-supporting  station  in  that 
city.  So  in  the  olden  time  most  of  the  churches 
of  all  our  cities  were  founded. 

There  is  a  perilous  tendency  among  our  lay- 
men and  local  preachers  now  to  avoid  personal 
responsibility  in  soul-saving  work;  pool  their 
financial  resources,  and  do  as  much  as  possible 
by  proxy ;  hire  a  good  preacher  to  become  spon- 
sor-general for  the  souls  of  the  congregation 
under  his  charge  ;  pay  an  organist  and  a  choir 
of  singers  to  "sing  praises  unto  the  Lord  for 


50  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

all  the  people."  As  prayers  are  cheap,  they 
depend  on  a  few  old  hands  to  do  the  praying 
at  the  prayer-meeting.  As  class-meetings  have 
become  unpopular  with  many,  it  is  convenient 
in  many  places  to  supersede  them  by  the 
church  social,  where  the  sheep  and  the  goats 
can  entertain  each  other.  Parents,  who  have  to 
work  so  hard  to  rise  in  the  world  and  keep  up 
ap23earances,  depend  on  the  Sunday-school  for 
the  spiritual  training  of  their  children,  and 
wherever  an  opening  is  found  for  pioneering  a 
new  field  for  church  work,  get  a  missionary  ap- 
propriation, and  send  a  missionary. 

Under  the  Gospel  utilization  of  princi- 
ple NUMBER  TWO,  "The  Lord  hath  ordained," 
as  under  his  Jewish  economy,  so  under  the 
Christian  dispensation,  that  "  they  which  preach 
the  Gospel  should  live  of  the  Gospel"  they 
preach.  "  The  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire," 
to  be  paid  by  the  people  who  get  the  benefit  of 
his  labors. 

The  illustrative  ox,  that  St.  Paul  introduces 
into  his  argument  on  this  subject,  was  not  an 
object  of  charity,  but  an  able-bodied  beast  that 
could  earn  his  own  feed,  and  had  the  right,  by 
the  laws  of  Moses,  with  unmuzzled  mouth  to 
eat  of  the  grain  he  was  treading.     Then,  when 


Principles  ais-d  Resources.  51 

his  day's  work  was  over,  lie  could  stand  square- 
ly on  Ms  four  legs,  and  chew  his  cud  in  con- 
scious self-respect.  From  "the  ox  that  tread- 
eth  out  the  corn,"  St.  Paul  runs  the  parallels 
of  labor  and  compensation  up  to  God's  own 
embassador,  high  on  the  list  of  producers  whose 
product  of  mind  and  muscle  is  put  among  the 
notable  values  in  the  market,  and  as  worthy  of 
compensation  as  any  other  values  in  it. 

St.  Paul,  in  his  argument,  takes  care  to  give 
to  God's  minister  the  double  application  of 
PRINCIPLE  number  two,  covcriug  not  only  the 
law  of  demand  and  supply  in  its  relation  to 
labor  and  compensation,  but  in  its  relation  also 
to  commercial  estimates  of  value.  He  bears 
in  his  hands  a  gospel  message  infinitely  more 
valuable  than  any  thing  that  could  be  given  in 
return.  Hence  he  says,  "  If  we  have  sown  unto 
you  spiritual  things,  is  it  a  great  thing  if  we 
shall  reap  your  carnal  things?"  1  Cor.  ix,  11. 

Under  these  two  gospel  commissariat 
PRINCIPLES  the  apostles  and  their  coadjutors 
conquered  the  R(jman  world. 

Under  these  two  principles  Methodism  had  its 
birth  and  its  development  in  England  and 
America  to  stalwart  manhood,  before  we  had 
any  Missionary  Societies.     I  believe  the  same  is 


52  Self-Supporting  Missiois's. 

true  of  all  tlie  branches  of  the  Church  of  God 
in  America. 

All  the  chaPwITAble  ijs^stitutions  in  the 
T^^ORLD  worthy  of  the  name  are  the  offspring 
of  gospel  achievement  under  the  operation  of 
principles  one  and  two. 

The  greatest  of  these  charities  is  that 
of  sending  the  Gospel,  prepaid,  to  poor  people 
who  are  not  able  to  support  the  ministers  who 
bring  them  the  glad  tidings,  and  to  pay  the 
other  current  expenses  of  the  movement. 

We  thus  deduce  principle  number  three, 
which  is  a  charity  principle. 

The  three  principles  are  co-ordinate ;  each  one 
constitutes  an  essential  part  of  God's  gospel 
commissariat  arrangement ;  the  first  two,  in  re- 
lation to  the  third,  standing  as  antecedents  : 
those  fundamental,  this  secondary. 

Under  the  first  two  the  mountains  are  tun- 
neled, the  railroads  built,  the  machine-shops 
run,  the  wheels  of  commerce  turned.  All  the 
legitimate  commerce  of  the  world  is  conducted 
under  these  two  principles,  and  regulated  by 
them  through  the  equipoise  of  the  law  of  de- 
mand and  supply. 

Under  principle  number  three  all  the  asy- 
lums, almshouses,  hospitals,  charities  of  every 


Principles  and  Eesources.  53 

variety,  public  and  private,  are  established  and 
sustained. 

There  is  no  collision  between  any  of  these 
institutions  and  the  railfoads.  If,  however,  the 
Board  of  Directors  of  a  hospital,  or  of  any  of 
these  charities,  should  claim  jurisdiction  over 
the  railroads  and  their  machine-shops,  then  the 
question  of  jurisdiction  would  have  to  be 
settled. 

Great  charity  institutions  are  a  peculiar  glory 
of  a  Christian  people,  but  they  don't  run  the 
commerce  of  the  nation. 

All  the  Missionary  Societies  are   based 

ON  THIS  heaven-born  PRINCIPLE  NUMBER  THREE. 

They  constitute  the  greatest  benevolent  in- 
stitutions in  the  world ;  tending  not  only  to 
alleviate  the  physical  woes  of  millions  of  the 
human  race,  but  to  rescue  their  souls  from  de- 
struction, and  restore  them  to  filial  union  with 
God,  and  to  eternal  life. 

I  have  labored  for  years  in  many  lands  with 
missionaries  of  most  of  the  great  leading  Mis- 
sionary Societies  of  the  world,  and  claim  to 
have  a  higher  appreciation  of  the  men  and 
women  employed,  and  of  their  heroic  self-sacri- 
fice and  grand  success  than  any  of  their  home 
officials  can  have,  who  have  not  had  the  same 


54  SELF-SuppoETi]S"a  Missions. 

opportunity  of  personal  contact  and  labor  with 
them  in  their  remote  fields;  so  that  nothing 
that  I  may  say  in  regard  to  self-supporting  mis- 
sions, under  principles  number  one  and  two, 
should  be  construed  as  implying  any  antagon- 
ism with  the  charity  principle,  and  the  institu- 
tions based  upon  it,  nor  invidious  contrasts  be- 
tween the  two  kinds  of  work. 

In  the  planting  and  prosecution  of  the  self -sup- 
porting mission  work  to  which  God  has  called 
me,  it  is  necessary  to  show  that  I  am  proceed- 
ing regularly  under  a  clearly  defined  gospel 
charter,  giving  me  the  nght  of  way  among  the 
nations,  yet  in  no  way  to  hinder,  but  in  many 
ways  to  help,  the  great  benevolent  missionary 
organizations  in  their  work. 

"What  about  the  Church  Exten^sioi^  So- 
ciety?" That  is  also  a  grand  benevolent 
institution,  but  its  disbursements  of  funds  not 
being  in  the  form  of  annuities  to  individual 
workers,  but  in  the  form  of  single  "  grants  in 
aid,"  to  build  up  permanent  church  improve- 
ments, it  partakes  largely  of  the  nature  of  a 
building  association,  to  put  a  spirit  of  independ- 
ence on  vantage  ground  for  self-supporting 
work,  and  hence  not  so  liable  to  the  pauperiz- 
ing   tendencies   which    give  the    almoners   of 


Priin-ciples  and  Kesources.  55 

charity  annuities  to  individuals  so  much 
trouble.  The  proper  disbursement  of  charities 
in  all  their  variety,  to  individuals,  is  one  of 
the  most  perplexing  problems  of  the  age  in 
v^^hich  we  live. 

In  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  and  Wyoming 
Territory,  and  all  along  those  lines  of  longitude, 
millions  of  cattle  subsist  through  all  their  win- 
ter seasons  on  the  native  grass  without  being 
fed. 

The  cattle  kings  of  Wyoming  told  me  when 
I  was  laboring  there,  that  from  the  severity  of 
some  of  their  winters,  they  lost  from  three  to 
five  per  cent,  of  their  cattle. 

I  asked  why  they  did  not  keep  a  supply  of 
hay  to  help  the  weaklings  through  ? 

"  Give  them  hay  and  they  quit  work,  and 
their  example  tends  to  demoralize  the  herd — 
cheaper  to  let  them  die." 

That  was  a  rigid  application  of  the  princi- 
ple of  self-support,  but  that  is  the  way  they 
develop  the  hardy  herds  which  require  no  feed 
in  the  winter,  and  hence  can  be  multiplied 
without  any  reference  to  the  limit  of  winter 
supplies  of  hay  or  grain. 

A  friend  of  mine,  in  the  State  of  Nevada, 
who  had  a  stock  rancho,  told  me  that  once,  in 


56  SELF-SuppoRTma  Missions. 

the  severity  of  a  hard  winter,  he  bought  a  stack 
of  hay  to  tide  his  weakly  cattle  through  a  cold 
snap.  His  supply  of  hay  was  not  at  all  ade- 
quate to  the  length  of  the  winter  season,  but 
would  sustain  life  till  the  snow  should  pass 
away,  and  allow  the  cattle  access  to  the  grass ; 
but,  to  his  great  disappointment,  all  the  cattle 
admitted  to  the  hay  stack  lay  down  by  it  as 
soon  as  they  filled  themselves.  Then  when 
hunger  returned,  they  would  walk  to  the  water- 
trough  and  drink,  and  return  to  the  stack  and 
eat.  Thus  they  spent  their  days  till  the  hay 
was  all  devoured,  and  then,  one  by  one,  they 
lay  down  and  died. 

The  next  winter  was  also  very  severe,  and 
my  friend  saw  that  he  was  likely  again  to  lose 
a  large  number  of  his  cattle,  but  having  learned 
a  lesson  of  wisdom  on  the  distribution  of  charity, 
he  determined  to  adopt  a  different  method,  so 
he  procured  a  supply  of  hay,  but  kept  it  en- 
tirely out  of  sight  of  the  herd,  and  during  the 
very  severe  weather  he  had  each  "  cow  boy " 
sling  two  bundles  of  hay  across  his  shoulder, 
and  have  them  hang  down  fore  and  aft  of  his 
body,  so  as  not  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
cattle,  and  pass  quietly  among  them  as  they 
were  scattered  widely  over  the  plains,  and  when 


Peinciples  and  Resources.  57 

tliey  found  one  in  a  starving  condition,  just  to 
lay  down  a  little  hay  and  pass  on.  In  that  way 
lie  did  not  paupeiize,  but  did  vitalize  and  keep 
his  needy  cattle  to  work  on  the  line  of  self- 
support,  and  did  not  lose  one  that  winter. 

Gifts  presented  directly  to  the  needy  by  the 
giver  have  an  advantage  over  pooled  donations, 
disbursed  on  more  general  principles  by  agents. 
Both  are  necessary,  and  none  the  less  so  because 
of  the  embarrassments  involved  in  their  admin- 
istration, but  let  those  embarrassments  be  lim- 
ited to  the  sphere  of  charity  work,  w^hether 
pertaining  to  the  bodies  or  to  the  souls  of  men, 
and  not  be  allowed  to  cripple  the  energy  and 
operations  of  self-support. 

What  about  Missionaries  ?  Are  they  ob- 
jects OF  charity  ? 

No,  not  because  they  are  missionaries.  An 
effective  missionary  is  as  much  a  producer  as  if 
he  labored  in  a  self-supporting  field.  He  is  a 
messenger  sent  and  supported  by  a  charity  in- 
stitution, to  carry  the  gospel  tidings  to  objects 
of  charity  who  are  not  able  to  support  the  gos- 
pel messenger,  and  pay  the  expenses  involved 
by  gospel  work  among  them. 

The  missionary,  however,  being  the  repre- 
sentative of  a  great  institution  which   has  a 


58  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

great  reputation  to  sustain,  mast  secure  and 
maintain  a  social  standing  in  keeping  witli  tlie 
institution  lie  represents,  rather  tlian  tliat  of 
the  mass  of  the  people  whom  he  is  sent  to 
serve ;  and  becoming,  too,  the  disbursing  agent 
of  large  sums  of  money  to  his  native  ministers 
and  employes,  in  their  variety,  he  is  in  more 
danger  of  becoming  master  instead  of  servant, 
than  the  minister  who  depends  on  the  people 
he  serves  for  his  support. 

One  of  my  Indian  converts  from  Hinduism 
said  on  one  occasion  to  two  native  ministers 
belonging  to  two  different  missions,  "In  our 
Church  we  are  all  brothers,  both  ministers  and 
people." 

After  a  little  pause,  one  of  them  replied, 
"  Well,  our  ministers  are  good  men,  but  we  get 
our  living  from  them,  and  they  are  our  mas- 
ters." It  does  not  follow  that  those  missiona- 
ries assumed  to  be  masters,  but  that  indicates 
a  peril  in  their  path. 

The  "middle  men,"  receivers  and  disburs- 
ers  of  charity  at  home  are  not  objects,  but 
agents  of  charity. 

The  wealthy  libeeal  Cheistian  men  who 
go  from  Christian  countries  to  heathen  lands, 
and  give  liberally  to  help  the  missionaries  in 


Principles  and  Kesources.  59 

tlieir  work  are  independent  patrons  of  charity, 
and  not  tlie  subjects  and  fruits  of  it. 

Col.  Gowen,  Col.  Kamsay,  and  others,  have 
given  liberally  to  help  our  North  India  Con- 
ference to  found  orphanages  and  schools. 

Such  examples  have  been  quoted  to  offset 
the  fact  of  the  real  self-support  of  the  South 
India  Conference,  coming  almost  entirely  from 
people  who  were  converted  at  our  altars,  and  give 
their  money  to  support  and  extend  Methodism. 

The  noble  men  of  the  North  referred  to  had 
developed  a  liberal  Christian  character  before 
they  ever  saw  a  Methodist  missionary,  and  have 
never  become  Methodists  at  all,  and  have  not 
given  their  money  to  support  Methodism,  as 
such.  They  are  broad  philanthropists,  and  do 
all  they  can  to  help  the  India  Government  to 
establish  educational  institutions  for  the  natives, 
and  are  glad  to  have  the  Methodist,  or  any 
other  Missionary  Society,  co-operate  with  them 
in  their  great  educational  work.  Thus  for 
many  years  the  Government  gave  as  much 
money  as  any  Missionary  Society  would  appro- 
priate toward  the  erection  of  a  school-house. 
That  is  all  right,  but  a  very  different  thing  from 
conquering  and  converting  enemies,  and  have 
them  cheerfully  to  foot  all  the  bills  involved. 


60  Self-Suppokting  Missions. 


VII. 

HEALTHY  HARMONIOUS  RELATIONSHIP  OF 
THE  TWO  METHODS  OF  MISSIONARY 
WORK. 

In  every  great  work  involving  a  variety  of 
agents  and  metliods,  the  harmony  and  effective- 
ness of  the  movement  requires  that  the  agents  of 
the  different  departments  shall  attend  to  their 
own  business,  according  to  the  laws  and  con- 
ditions governing  their  own  sphere  of  opera- 
tions respectively. 

In  a  great  steamship  there  are  engineers, 
firemen,  seamen,  cooks,  waiters,  stewards,  and 
officers  of  all  these  departments ;  so  in  an  army 
there  are  many  departments,  and  each  governed 
by  its  own  peculiar  laws.  The  engineers,  the 
sappers  and  miners,  the  commissariat  agents,  the 
soldiers,  with  their  divisions  of  cavalry,  artil- 
lery, militia,  and  so  on — all  influenced  by  the 
same  motives,  and  working  together  for  one 
common  end ;  but  the  harmony  and  success  of 
the  movement  can  be  secured  only  by  main- 
taining strictly  the  diversity  of  the  separate 
departments  of  work. 


Harmoitious  Methods.  61 

So,  if  the  laws  and  principles  of  Divine  ap- 
pointment, essential  to  tlie  establishment  and 
success  of  self-supporting  missions,  are  diverse 
from  those  of  the  organized  charity  missionary 
movements,  we  have  only  to  recognize  that 
fact,  and  allow  the  Holy  Spirit  to  work  in  har- 
mony with  those  diverse  laws  and  methods; 
then  all  will  rejoice  together  in  the  success  of 
his  soul-saving  work,  whatever  the  diversity  of 
means  employed. 

The  main  question  pending  this  discussion 
about  self-supporting  missions  is  this :    Have 

THESE  FIRST  TWO    PRINCIPLES  A    POSSIBLE  DIRECT 

APPLICATION  to  the  better  classes,  or  any  class 
of  the  foreign  empires  of  Romanism  and  hea- 
thenism? Or  must  those  vast  populations, 
comprising  nearly  four  fifths  of  the  human  race, 
be  evangelized  through  the  agency  sent  out  and 
supported  by  the  organized  Missionary  Societies, 
with  such  measure  of  indigenous  agency  and 
self-support  as  they  may  develop  under  the  op- 
eration of  the  charity  principle?  The  latter 
is  the  position  assumed,  as  I  understand  it,  by 
all  the  Churches  of  Christendom,  and  by  the 
administrators  of  all  Missionary  Societies. 

I  know  that  to  question  such  a  high  stand- 
ard of  authority  is  to  lay  myself  open  to  the 


6^  SELF-SuppORTma  Missions. 

charge  of  presumptuous  egotism;  hence,  if  it 
were  simply  a  speculative  question,  I  would 
not  moot  it  at  all ;  but  with  me  it  is  a  question 
of  the  most  vital  and  practical  importance, 
involving  the  salvation  or  criminal  neglect  of 
millions  of  souls.  Hence,  with  a  high  appre- 
ciation of  the  Missionary  Societies,  their  work- 
ers, and  their  work,  and  with  all  due  deference 
to  so  high  a  standard  of  authority,  I  neverthe- 
less presume  to  say,  first,  that  they  have  taken 
too  large  a  contract  for  their  financial  resources ; 
and,  second,  that  the  principles  number  one 
and  two  have  not  only  a  possible  dieect  appli- 
cation" TO  THE  BETTER  CLASSES  of  thosc  empires 
of  Romanism  and  heathenism,  but  the  only 
principles  on  which  the  better  classes  can,  to 
any  appreciable  extent,  be  reached. 

The  three  principles,  with  the  appropriate 
methods  belonging  to  each,  are  governed  by 
their  laws  of  nature,  or  God's  modes  of  operat- 
ing through  the  relations  affected  by  them. 
The  relation  between  the  cause  and  the  effect 
may  not  be  seen  by  the  subject  of  it,  but  that 
does  not  alter  the  fact. 

Give  a  starving  beggar  a  loaf  of  bread,  and 
he  will  receive  it  with  thanksgiving.  Tender 
such  a  charity  to  a  man  of  independent  spirit 


Harmonious  Methods.  63 

and  means,  and  you  insult  him.  Meet  the  man 
of  means  on  the  platform  of  independent  per- 
sonal equality,  call  his  attention  to  something 
that  will  commend  itseK  to  his  common  sense, 
and  to  his  conscience,  as  a  thing  of  great  value 
to  him  and  to  the  community  in  which  he 
lives,  and  he  will  invest  his  money  in  it,  and 
become  an  interested  party  in  its  dissemina- 
tion. 

The  Gospel,  mth  its  resources,  motives  and 
adaptations,  presented  in  God's  way, "  commends 
itself  to  every  man's  conscience."  When  a  cer- 
tain man  of  this  class  found  a  pearl  of  great 
price,  ^'  he  sold  all  that  he  had  and  bought  it," 

It  is  often  a  matter  of  surprise,  and  of  regret, 
too,  that  the  Churches  gathered  by  missionaries 
in  heathen  countries  are,  with  a  very  few  indi- 
vidual exceptions,  the  poorest  of  the  poor 
people  of  those  countries.  Then  is  quoted  the 
comforting  saying  of  the  Master,  "  To  the  poor 
the  Gospel  is  preached."  That  was  true,  but 
not  so  exclusively  as  in  modern  missionaiy 
work.  The  Saviour  and  his  preachers  reached, 
with  saving  results,  all  grades  of  society,  up  to 
the  household  of  Herod  and  of  Caesar;  and 
their  well-to-do  men  and  women  ministered  to 
the  necessities  of  the  preachers  and  paid  all  the 


64  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

running  expenses  of  the  work  and  met  the  de- 
mands of  its  charities. 

Paul's  plan  was  first  to  reach  the  educated, 
influential  people  of  the  great  cities  of  the 
Roman  world;  and  so  far  succeeded  on  that 
line  of  work  that,  according  to  Dean  Trench, 
the  name  "  heathen  "  is  taken  from  the  heaths 
occupied  by  the  poor  people;  and  the  word 
pagan,  from  Pagani,  the  people  of  the  paguses, 
or  small  villages,  while,  meantime,  the  popula- 
tion of  the  great  cities  had  become  Christians. 

The  question  is  not  whether  the  first  two 
principles  are  applicable  to  Christian  countries, 
nor  whether  the  chaiity  principle,  as  applied  to 
heathen  countries  in  the  great  missionary  work 
now  in  progress  can  be  dispensed  with,  but 
whether  or  not  the  Gospel,  under  the  apostolic 
principles  and  methods  of  self-support,  as  be- 
fore explained,  shall  have  a  recognition  in 
heathen  countries ;  and  that  we  be  allowed  to 
build  up  loyal  Churches  in  those  countries 
through  indigenous  resources — Churches  to  take 
rank  in  paternal  relationship,  with  all  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  self-supporting  Churches  at 
home,  without  the  sponsorship  of  a  missionary 
society  ? 

This  is  the  question  that  I  respectfully  sub- 


Haemonious  Methods.  65 

mitted   to    our   Cliurcli   authorities  ten   years 
ago. 

When  tlie  Lord  commenced  to  found  self- 
supporting  Churches  in  India,  through  my 
agency,  I  took  the  ground:  Fiest,  that  the 
jurisdiction  of  a  missionary  society  extended 
legitimately  to  all  the  fields  requiring  and  re- 
ceiving funds  from  her  treasury.  Second,  that 
the  jurisdiction  of  our  Bishops,  in  foreign  fields 
should  not  be  limited  to  the  missions  thus  cov- 
ered by  the  jurisdiction  of  our  Missionary  So- 
ciety, but  should  extend  to  any  part  of  the 
habitable  globe  requiring  the  services  and 
guaranteeing  the  support  of  an  itinerant  Meth- 
odist minister;  and  hence,  requested  them  to 
take  immediate  direct  charge  of  my  Indian 
Churches,  but  refused  to  put  them  under  the 
intermediate  control  of  the  Missionan^  Societ}^ 
Hence  I  suggested,  modestly,  to  the  Board  of 
Bishops,  through  Bishop  Janes,  that,  on  the 
ground  of  common  necessity,  common  sense, 
and  the  common  law  of  Methodism,  they 
should  put  a  liberal  construction  on  the  "  mis- 
sionary rule"  for  ordaining  men  for  foreign 
w^ork,  so  as  to  ordain  and  send  out  men  to  the 
fields  the  Lord  might  enable  me  to  open. 


66  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 


VIII. 

ST.  PAUL'S  METHODS  OF  MISSIONARY  WORK. 
I.  The  Pauline  plan  of  planting  the  Gos- 
pel IN  HEATHEN  LANDS  WaS 

1.  To  plant  nothing  but  pure  gospel  seed : 
not  a  grain  of  Jew  tares,  cockle,  or  cheat,  naught 
but  the  pure  wheat  of  gospel  truth.  When 
sowers  of  mixed  seed  came  into  his  fields  Paul 
put  up  the  following  notice :  "  There  be  some 
that  trouble  you,  and  would  pervert  the  Gospel 
of  Christ.  But  though  we,  or  an  angel  from 
heaven,  preach  any  other  Gospel  unto  you  than 
that  which  we  have  preached  unto  you,  let  him 
be  accursed."    Gal.  i,  7,  8. 

Hence,  when  Peter  inspected  the  harvest 
fruits  of  Paul's  seed-sowing,  he  said,  "Seeing 
ye  have  purified  your  souls  in  obeying  the  truth 
through  the  Spirit  unto  unfeigned  love  of  the 
brethren,  see  that  ye  love  one  another  vrith  a 
pure  heart  fervently :  being  born  again,  not  of 
corruptible  seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  by  the 
word  of  God,  which  liveth  and  abideth  for- 


ever." 


2.    Paul   laid    the    entire    responsibility   of 


St.  Paul's  Methods.  67 

clnircli  work  and  cliurcli  government  upon  his 
native  converts,  under  the  immediate  super- 
vision of  the  Holy  Spirit,  just  as  fast  as  he  and 
his  tried  and  trusted  fellow-missionaries  could 
get  them  well  organized,  precluding  foreign  in- 
terference. His  general  administrative  bishops 
were  natives  of  the  foreign  countries  in  which 
he  had  planted  the  Gospel :  such  men  as  Tim- 
othy and  Titus. 

3.  Paul  "  endeavored  to  keep  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace"  with  the  home 
Jerusalem  Churches  by  all  possibilities  short 
of  corrupting  his  gospel  seed,  or  allowing  the 
home  Churches  to  put  a  yoke  of  bondage  on 
his  neck,  or  of  laying  any  restrictions  on  his 
foreign  Churches. 

4.  On  the  principle  of  equivalents,  or  value 
for  value,  which  he  expressed  in  terms  like 
these,  "The  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire," 
"  They  that  preach  the  gospel  shall  live  of  the 
gospel " — ^he  took  it  for  granted  that  the  Gospel 
was  worth  to  any  country  incalculably  more 
than  all  the  cost  of  "food,  raiment,"  and  travel- 
ing expenses  of  the  messengers  devoted  wholly 
to  its  promulgation:  "For,"  says  Paul,  "if  the 
Gentiles  have  been  made  partakers  of  their 
spiritual  things,  their  duty  is  also  to  minister 


68  SELF-SuppoETma  Missions. 

unto  tliem  in  carnal  tilings."  Hence  he  went, 
and  sent,  according  to  the  teaching  of  the  Mas- 
ter, without  "purse  or  scrip,"  or  an  extra  coat, 
or  pair  of  shoes,  above  the  actual  requirements 
of  their  health  and  comfort. 

5.  In  utilizing  for  the  advancement  of  Christ's 
kingdom,  and  for  the  support  of  its  ministers 
and  institutions,  all  available  agencies  and  re- 
sources, he  uniformly  commenced  in  Jewish 
communities,  which  had  become  indigenous  in 
all  the  great  centers  of  population  throughout 
the  Roman  Empire.  They  were  representatives 
of  the  ancient  Church  of  God,  retained  its 
forms  of  worship  and  its  insj)ired  oracles,  and 
yet  Avere  practically  more  Greek  than  Jew,  and 
perfectly  familiar  with  the  life  and  languages 
of  the  Gentiles  among  whom  they  had  been 
born  and  brought  up.  Hence,  as  fast  as  Paul 
and  his  fellow-missionaries  could  get  those 
Jews  to  receive  Christ  and  be  saved  from  their 
sins,  they  organized  them  in  the  houses  of  their 
principal  men  and  women  into  self-supporting 
Churches  and  spiritually  aggressive  combina- 
tions of  agency  for  the  salvation  of  their  heathen 
neighbors. 

6.  To  give  permanency  and  continued  ag- 
gressive force  to  his  organizations,  as  far  as  pos- 


St.  Paul's  Methods.  69 

sible,  lie  remained  in  each  great  center  of  work 
long  enough  not  only  to  effect  a  complete  organ- 
ization, witli  administrative  elders,  but  to  de- 
velop the  Christian  character  of  each  member 
up  to  the  standard  of  holiness  indicated  by  his 
oft-repeated  exhortations  and  prayers  as  re- 
corded in  his  epistles.  To  the  Church  in  Phil- 
ippi  he  says,  "Do  all  things  without  murmur- 
ings  and  disputings :  that  ye  may  be  blameless 
and  harmless,  the  sons  of  God,  without  rebuke, 
in  the  midst  of  a  crooked  and  perverse  nation, 
among  whom  ye  shine  as  lights  in  the  world ; 
holding  forth  the  word  of  life;  that  I  may 
rejoice  in  the  day  of  Christ,  that  I  have  not 
run  in  vain,  neither  labored  in  vain."  Paul 
knew  that  "  a  man  who  commenced  to  build  a 
house,  and  was  not  able  to  finish  it,"  as  stated 
by  the  Master,  would  lose  all  his  labor  and 
ruin  his  reputation  as  a  builder. 

Driven  out  suddenly  from  Thessalonica  by 
mob  violence  before  he  had  time  to  build  up 
his  Church  in  that  city  '4n  their  most  holy 
faith,"  their  lack  of  perfection  occasioned  a 
heart  struggle  of  suspense  and  anxiety  that 
nearly  killed  him,  but  was  relieved  in  part  by 
tidings  of  their  steadfastness,  when  he  said, 
"  Now  we  live,  if  ye  stand  fast  in  the  Lord." 


70  Self-Supportikg  Missions. 

Still  Lis  solicitude  was  so  great  that  lie  prayed 
^'  niglit  and  day  exceedingly  "  that  lie  miglit  see 
their  face,  '^  and  perfect  that  which  "  was  "  lack- 
ing in  "  their  "  faith."  1  Thess.  iii,  10.  And  Paul 
assures  the  Church  at  Ephesus  that  all  God's 
ministers — "  apostles,  prophets,  evangelists,  pas- 
tors and  teachers,"  were  to  make  a  specialty  of 
"  perfecting  the  saints,"  till "  all " — individually, 
and  as  a  body — "  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith, 
and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto 
a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of 
the  fuHness  of  Christ."  Eph.  iv,  11-14.  He 
knew,  as  a  General  in  the  King's  army  for  the 
conquest  of  the  world,  that  if  he  left  a  regi- 
ment of  "children,  tcssed  to  and  fro,  and  car- 
ried about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the 
sleight  of  men,  and  cunning  craftiness,  whereby 
they  lie  in  wait  to  deceive,"  they  would  be  capt- 
ured, and,  worse  still,  his  work  would  be  coun- 
terfeited by  "  the  apostles  of  Satan,"  who  would 
marshal  his  apostates  under  the  Christian  flag, 
and  make  a  material  disphiy  that  would  quite 
eclipse  the  work  of  a  plain  man  like  PauL 


St.  Paul's  Methods.  71 

Paulike  Methods  Suited  to  the  Demands  of 
THIS  Age. 

God's  gospel  arrangements  and  provisions  as 
-revealed  in  the  Book  are  adapted  to  all  the  pe- 
culiarities of  all  ages,  and  adequate  to  the 
spiritual  needs  of  all  the  "  nations  "  and  "  fami- 
lies of  the  earth;"  but  there  is  a  remarkable 
correspondence  between  the  providential  con- 
ditions of  Paul's  day  and  of  our  day  favorable 
to  a  rapid  soul-saving  work  of  God  throughout 
the  world. 

1.  For  the  wide  domain  and  far-reaching  in- 
fluence of  the  Roman  Government,  and  the 
potency  of  her  literature  and  laws,  we  have  the 
modern  counterpart  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Empire 
of  Nations,  including  Great  Britain,  her  Amer- 
ican daughter  under  the  stars  and  stripes,  and 
all  her  Colonial  governments,  and  her  repre- 
sentatives among  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
These  Anglo-Saxon  Protestant  Christian  na- 
tions are  the  owners  of  a  large  share  of  the 
land,  and  command  the  resources  of  all  the  seas 
of  the  globe. 

2.  That  was  purely  heathen  and  bitterly  op- 
posed to  Christ  and  his  Gospel.  This  is  avow- 
edly Christian,  and  pledged  to  defend  and  ex- 


72  Self-Suppoeting  Missiois-s. 

tend  tlie  religion  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  and  higli 
above  the  designs  of  men  the  English,  coloniza- 
tion system,  as  we  have  shov^n,  w^hatever  the 
motive  and  methods  of  its  endless  variety  of 
agency,  is  part  of  a  providential  programme  for 
the  permanent  establishment  of  universal  Chris- 
tian empire  in  the  world. 

3.  Paul  took  advantage  of  the  wide  diffusion 
of  the  Greek  language  and  literature  of  his  day. 
We  may  utilize  more  effectively  our  own  En- 
glish language,  which  is  manifestly  a  God- 
ordained  medium,  through  which  his  word  may 
flow  "  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  "  and 
flood  the  nations  with  gospel  light. 

4.  The  scattered  Jews  constituted  the  enter- 
ing wedge  with  which  Paul  opened  the  heathen 
nations  of  his  day.  Our  English-speaking  people, 
dispersed  through  the  earth,  ought  to  be  as 
available  and  as  potent  for  good  as  the  dispersed 
Jews  of  Paul's  day.  Those  were,  in  the  main, 
refugees,  prisoners  of  war,  and  slaves,  and  at 
best  occupied  a  social  position  of  no  great  in- 
fluence. 

What  of  the  dispersed  English-speaking 
people  as  compared  with  the  dispersed  Jew  ? 

The  currents  of  English  and  American  com- 
merce  have    deposited    on    ^11    the   coasts   of 


St.  Paul's  Methods.  73 

heatlien  and  semi-lieatlieii  countries,  vast  re- 
sources of  men,  money  and  merchandise.  These 
adventurous,  heroic  men  of  every  class  are  not 
bound  by  bands  of  exclusive  caste  like  the 
Jews ;  they  are  liberal  and  often  wasteful  to  a 
faulty  extreme.  They  have  not  the  systematic 
training  in  regular  voluntary  payment  of  the 
tenth  of  their  income  that  was  common  among 
the  Jews,  but  the  sight  of  real  distress  or  need 
will  always  touch  the  hearts,  and  open,  and 
often  empty,  the  pockets  of  the  dispersed  En- 
glishmen. 

The  religious  training  of  the  Jews  afforded 
many  advantages  favorable  to  their  reception 
of  Christ,  but  the  truth  they  held  was  so  ob- 
scured by  their  traditions  as  to  make  the  en- 
trance of  gospel  light  extremely  difficult,  and,  in 
a  large  majority  of  cases,  impossible.  Their 
endless  routine  of  obsolete  altar  services  and 
sacrifices,  and  of  self-imposed  "works  of  the 
law"  and  ritualistic  observances  were  equally 
obstructive. 

The  religious  training  of  the  Englishman  is 
decidedly  Christian.  His  elevation  from  gross 
barbarism,  and  the  emancipation  of  his  mental 
powers  and  their  consequent  development,  and 
all  his  grand  achievements  in  their  vast  variety 


74  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

.are  clearly  traceable  to  the  mysterious  power 
of  an  open  Bible,  and  the  Divine  resources  of 
light,  life  and  salvation  to  which  it  leads. 

In  Paul's  days  the  Jews  were  bitter  persecu- 
tors of  the  Christians,  rivaled  only  by  their 
heathen  neighbors,  who  were  often  set  on  by 
themselves.  Paul  had  a  hard  experience  on 
this  line.  Speaking  of  false  "apostles,  deceit- 
ful workers,  transforming  themselves  into  the 
apostles  of  Christ,"  he  says:  "Are  they  min- 
isters of  Christ  ?  I  am  more ;  in  labors  more 
abundant,  in  stripes  above  measure,  in  prisons 
more  frequent,  in  deaths  oft.  Of  the  Jews  five 
times  received  I  forty  stripes  save  one.  Thrice 
was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once  was  I  stoned, 
thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck  " — [this  was  prior  to 
his  wreck  as  a  Eoman-bound  prisoner] — "a 
night  and  a  day  I  have  been  in  the  deep" — 
[hanging  on  to  a  fragment  of  the  ^^nrecked  vessel] 
— "  in  journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in 
perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by  mine  own  coun- 
trymen, in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils  in 
the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in 
the  sea,  in  perils  among  false  brethren." 

5.  All  governments,  all  nations,  all  religious 
systems,  were  combined  in  deadly  hate  against 
Jesus    and    his   infant    Church.      To-day    the 


St.  Paul's  Methods.  75 

doors  of  every  nation  on  tlie  face  of  tlie  earth 
are  open  to  God's  gospel  messengers.  If  an  ir- 
responsible mob  make  an  onslaught  upon  them, 
as  in  Mexico  a  few  years  ago,  the  government 
at  once  purges  itself  of  the  outrage,  and  orders 
the  arrest  and  punishment  of  the  offenders. 

6.  Instead  of  thumping  about  on  the  Medi- 
terranean sea  and  off  the  west  coast  of  Europe 
in  the  fellow  to  an  old  leaky  Chinese  junk,  as 
did  Paul  and  his  heroic  compeers,  we  circum- 
navigate the  globe  in  floating  palaces  driven 
by  modern  mechanical  forces,  the  discovery  and 
application  of  which  result  from  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  the  human  intellect  through  the  power 
of  the  Gospel. 

Paul  had  the  advantage  of  miraculous  gifts. 
They  were  public  divine  attestations  of  the 
men  whom  God  inspired,  and  the  messages  they 
delivered  and  wrote,  and  the  soul-saving  meth- 
ods they  employed.  Thus  God  composed  a 
Book  for  man's  instruction,  and  established  the 
gospel  system.  As  temporary  scaffolding  to 
the  permanent  superstructure,  so  were  mere 
physical  miracles  to  this  gospel  system,  and  to 
the  superior  miraculous  soul-saving  work  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  "  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit," 
adequate  and  available  for  the  woes  and  wants 


76  SELr-SuPPORTING    MISSIONS. 

of  every  human  soul  to  tlie  end  of  tlie  world. 
The  prophetic  utterances  of  the  "  holy  men  of 
old,  who  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  and  God's  miraculous  attesting 
evidences,  with  which  the  Bible  is  so  replete, 
^x  the  standard  and  measure  of  evidence  that 
God  deemed  essential  to  command  the  confi- 
dence and  obedient  concurrence  of  mankind. 
Any  religion  unsupported  by  such  attesting 
evidence,  is  utterly  unworthy  of  the  confidence 
of  mankind.  As  an  embassador  for  Christ,  I 
am  not  sent  to  perform  public,  physical  mira- 
cles, but  to  proclaim  the  glad  tidings  of  a  com- 
plete and  perfectly  attested  gospel,  and  of  a 
possible  verification  of  its  truth,  and  by  a  per- 
sonal demonstration  of  the  Spirit  in  my  renewed 
heart  and  life,  to  bear  witness  to  the  fact  that 
the  Lord  Jesus  is  alive,  a  personal  Saviour,  and 
saves  me ;  and  that  saved  millions  to-day  are 
witnesses  of  these  facts. 

I  have  but  intimated  the  facts  illustrating 
the  vantage  ground,  resources,  appliances  and 
grand  possibilities  of  the  Church  of  Christ  at 
this  hour.  If  she  would  purge  her  records,  put 
on  her  strength,  and  come  out  of  the  wilderness 
leaning  in  perfect  fidelity  on  the  arm  of  her 
Beloved,    he    would    lead    her    triumphantly 


St.  Paul's  Methods.  77 

througli  the  open  gates  of  all  tlie  nations,  and 
tlie  whole  world  would  yield  willing  obedience 
to  God  and  his  Christ  in  less  than  fifty  years 
from  this  moment. 

Present  Outlook  fok  Pauline  Self-support- 
ma  Missions  in  Foreign  Countries. 

As  we  have  seen,  our  transportation  facilities 
are  marvelously  prophetic,  and  daily  increasing 
and  extending.     All  countries  are  open  and  ac- 
cessible, and  skirted  by  a  resident  population 
bearing  the  Christian  name,  and  speaking  our 
own  language.     Those  dear  people,  widely  iso- 
lated   from    wholesome    home    influence    and 
Christian    association,    and    deprived    of    the 
counsel  and  care  of  gospel  ministers,  have  be- 
come sadly  assimilated  to  the  heathenism  and 
infidelity  surrounding  them.    As  might  reason- 
ably be  expected,  their  unrestrained  carnal  nat- 
ure thus  open  to  lustful  allurements,  a  large 
proportion  of  them  are  enticed  and  enslaved. 
Many  of  them  marry  native  women,  and  bring 
up  families  of  mixed  blood,  which  form  an  in- 
digenous class  of  society  bearing  the  Christian 
name,   and,  in   the   main,  speaking  both  the 
English  language  and  the  vernacular  of  the 
particular  province  in  which  they  live.     With 


78  SELF-SuppoPwTiNa  Missions. 

some  honorable  exceptions,  tlie  mass  of  tliem, 
so  long  exposed  to  the  demoralizing  power  of 
their  surroundings,  constitute  so  formidable  an 
obstruction  to  the  introduction  and  dissemina- 
tion of  vital  Christianity  where  they  reside  that 
missionaries,  to  achieve  any  success  worthy  of 
their  cause,  and  of  their  seK-sacrificing  toils, 
have  had  to  go  far  into  the  interior,  where  they 
themselves  are  to  the  natives  the  only  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Christian  religion. 

The  grandest  soul-saving  successes  of  mission- 
ary effort  have  been  among  the  South  Sea  Island 
cannibals,  where  the  peril  of  being  roasted  and 
eaten  precluded  commerce  and  immigration. 

The  Wesleyan  missionary  hero,  John  Hunt, 
and  his  noble  wife,  unfurled  the  gospel  stand- 
ard near  to  the  palace  of  Thackenbaugh,  the 
great  cannibal  king  of  Fiji.  The  king  and  his 
men  of  war  held  their  cannibal  feasts  in  front 
of  the  missionary's  house,  where  they  dug  their 
ovens  and  roasted  and  ate  their  victims  in  the 
presence  of  the  missionary  and  his  family. 
Thackenbaugh  afterward  became  a  Christian, 
and  his  whole  nation  "  turned  away  from  idols 
to  serve  the  living  God." 

So,  under  the  ministrations  of  the  apostle 
Peter  Turner,  the  king  of  the  Friendly  Islands 


St.  Paul's  Methods.  79 

and  liis  queen  were  botli  converted  to  God  in 
one  niglit.  The  king  became  a  powerful 
preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and  planted  missions  in 
adjacent  islands. 

So  Nathaniel  Turner  and  a  heroic  band  of 
men  and  women,  at  the  peril  of  their  lives,  pro- 
claimed the  tidings  of  salvation  to  the  man- 
eating  Maories  of  New  Zealand.  Thus  slavery 
and  cannibalism  were  abolished,  whole  nations 
were  marshaled  under  the  gospel  banner,  and 
their  countries  dotted  with  Christian  churches, 
schools,  and  happy  homes,  where  the  Prince  of 
Peace  dwelt  with  the  people.  I  have  heard 
many  of  those  pioneer  missionaries  give  the 
marvelous  accounts  of  their  trials  and  triumphs 
that  would  fill  a  volume. 

Those  grand  missionary  successes  made  im- 
migration into  those  hitherto  cannibal  countries 
possible;  then  came  the  hordes  of  English- 
speaking  Christians;  blight  and  ruin  ensued, 
profligacy,  rum,  diseases  unknown  to  natives, 
wars  and  destruction.  This  is  notably  true  of. 
the  native  nations  of  New  Zealand,  as  seen  by 
my  own  eyes.  Fiji  is  now  in  great  peril  from 
the  same  cause.  The  railway  system  is  now 
carrying  those  foreign  misrepresentatives  of 
Christianity  away  from  the  ports  into  the  in- 


80  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

terior  regions  of  all  tlie  empires  of  heatlienism 
except  China,  and  will  jeopardize  Christian 
missions  wherever  they  go. 

Why  signalize  foreign  English-speaking  ad- 
venturers ? 

Because  of  their  superior  numbers  as  com- 
pared with  other  maritime  nations ;  because  of 
the  power  and  influence  of  the  nations  they 
represent ;  and  especially  because,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  great  missionary  system  of  the 
Christian  nations,  those  hordes  of  English- 
speaking  adventurers  constitute  a  grand  heaven- 
appointed  agency  for  the  salvation  of  heathen 
and  semi- Christian  nations  just  as  certainly  as 
were  the  Jews,  scattered  abroad  among  the  na- 
tions, in  the  days  of  St  Paul. 

Why  the  sad  miscarriage  of  these  valuable 
resources  and  agencies  ? 

The  possibility  of  such  disaster  grows  out  of 
the  fact  that  man  is  not  a  mere  animal,  but 
"  the  offspring  of  God,"  endowed  with  the  at- 
tributes of  intelligence,  affections,  conscience, 
and  a  will,  essential  to  a  royal,  filial  relation  to 
God  ;  hence  the  sad  abuse  of  moral  freedom  by 
Adam  and  Eve,  and  of  their  descendants 
through  all  the  intervening  ages  to  this  day. 

The  more  immediate  occasion  of  this  disaster 


St.  Paul's  Methods.  81 

may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  Churches 
have  devoted  theii^  religious  activities  princi- 
pally to  home  work  in  great  variety^  and  by 
desperate  efforts  have  sent  forth  about  one  mis- 
sionary for  each  one  hundred  million  of  heath- 
ens, and  in  the  main  precluded  their  foreign 
countrymen  from  their  programme  of  evangeli- 
zation ;  so  much  so,  that  a  man  who  dares  to  go 
and  gather  those  lost  sheep  and  fold  them  for 
the  Good  Shepherd,  becomes,  by  so  doing,  a 
pronounced  "irregular."  The  Churches  have 
bat  two  "regular"  methods  of  disseminating 
the  Gospel.  One  is  by  the  gradual  extension 
of  the  home  work,  and  the  other  is  by  the  au- 
thorized location  of  definite  mission  fields,  the 
appointment  of  missionaries,  and  the  appropri- 
ation of  money  to  support  them,  by  the  regular 
Missionary  Societies  through  their  officials. 
Our  remote,  dispersed  people  are  beyond  the 
radius  of  the  first,  and  not  being  heathens  nor 
paupers,  they  do  not  come  within  the  plan  or 
provision  of  our  Missionary  Societies.  Mean- 
time Satan,  conducting  his  missionary  opera- 
tions on  the  self-supporting  plan,  has  been  al- 
lowed quietly  to  utilize  nearly  all  these  grand 
resources  of  men  and  money,  and  an-ay  them 
against  the  advance  of  Christ's  kingdom.     Not 


82  SELF-SulPPOtiTiNG  Missions, 

largely  in  avowed  opposition,  to  be  sure,  but 
the  daily  presence  of  drunken,  profane,  licen- 
tious, haughty,  native-hating  English  Chris- 
tians (?)  furnish  to  native  minds  an  argument 
against  Christianity  that  outweighs  all  possible 
utterances  of  the  missionary. 

Those  stumbling-blocks  must  be  taken  out 
of  the  way,  so  far  at  least  as  to  furnish  to  the 
natives  a  demonstration  of  the  transforming 
power  of  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  and  establish 
a  clearly  defined  line  between  nominal  and  real 
Christians,  designated  in  India  "pakka"  and 
"  kutchha  "  Christians.  Otherwise  the  heathen 
will  continue  to  point  the  missionary  to  his 
debauched  countrymen,  and  tauntingly  say, 
"  There  is  one  of  your  disciples.  You  have  had 
him  in  hand  ever  since  he  was  born.  If  your 
Jesus  can't  make  him  as  good  as  a  common 
heathen  man,  what  is  the  good  of  your  tales 
about  his  great  power  to  save  men  from  their 
sins  ? " 

The  heathen  may  not  make  due  allowance 
for  man's  power  to  resist  God's  saving  work  in 
his  own  soul,  but  their  argument  has,  neverthe- 
less, unanswerable  force  in  it ;  for  a  gospel 
agency  that  cannot  lead  at  least  a  fair  propor- 
tion of  our  own  p'ebple  in  he'ath'eii  lands  to  a 


St.  Paul^  METHOiffi.  83 

saving  knowledge  of  Jesus  Ckrist  cannot  be 
very  effective  in  the  more  difficult  work  of  sav- 
ing the  heathen.  The  fact  is,  most  of  the  mis- 
sionaries in  the  past  have  had  instructions  from 
authority  at  home  not  to  divide  their  time  with 
English-speaking  people.  This  precaution  was 
to  prevent  a  possible  diversion  from  the  native 
work.  Moreover,  the  missionaries,  in  founding 
and  teaching  schools  for  the  natives,  translat- 
ing and  printing  books,  together  with  daily 
preaching  and  disputation,  had  no  time  nor 
strength  to  spare  for  their  demoralized  coun- 
trymen. 

Meantime,  however,  mainly  by  missionary 
agency,  the  Bible  has  been  translated  and 
printed  into  more  than  two  hundred  different 
languages,  besides  tomes  of  other  Christian 
literature  and  school  books,  and  thousands  of 
schools  crowded  mth  native  pupils.  This  is 
all  grand  preparatory  work,  essential  to  the 
final  triumph  of  the  Gospel.  Those  heroic 
pioneers  have  been  grading  down  "  mountains 
and  hills,"  filling  up  the  "  valleys,  making  the 
crooked  straight,  and  the  rough  places  plain  '* 
— preparing  "the  way  of  the  Lord." 

All  the  regular  missions  should  be  adequately 
re-enforced  and   sustained  by  home  Churches, 


84  SELF-SUPPORTING    MiSSIOKS. 

but  their  next  grand  achievement  is  to  utilize, 
on  a  purely  spiritual  soul-saving  base,  the  na- 
tive agency  and  resources  connected  with  their 
work.  The  school-house  is  an  armory  from 
which  the  children  of  heathen  and  Moham- 
medan parents  go  forth  armed  with  weapons 
which  they  will  surely  turn  against  God  and 
his  people,  unless  they  are  led  to  receive  the 
Lord  Jesus  and  allow  him  to  "  save  them  from 
their  sins,"  and  "destroy  the  works  of  the 
devil "  out  of  their  hearts. 

Practical  Test  of  Paulln-e  Methods. 

God  is  using  me  and  my  fellow- workers  as  a 
special  body  of  agency  to  initiate  and  develop 
from  the  start  the  Pauline  principle  of  self-sup- 
porting missionary  work.  All  missions  hope  to 
work  up  to  this  standard,  and  have  reached  it  in  a 
few  cases.  We  have  a  few  fine  examples  in  our 
regular  Methodist  Mission  in  China. 

That  the  application  may  the  more  readily 
be  seen,  I  will  restate  some  leading  principles 
of  Paul's  plan  : 

1.  To  bear  the  gospel  message  to  his  own 
people,  wherever  he  could  find  them  scattered 
through  the  nations  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

2.  By  all   possible   means  to  induce  them, 


St.  Paul's  Methods.  85 

upon  the  prophetic  records  of  their  own  inspired 
Scriptures  concerning  Messiah,  and  the  most 
public  and  notable  fulfillment  of  them  in  the 
person  of  Jesus  of  ISiazareth,  to  "receive  him" 
as  their  Saviour  from  sin,  and  allow  him  to 
elevate  them  to  citizenship  in  his  spiritual  and 
eternal  kingdom. 

Pursuant  to  the  command  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
to  all  his  saved  ones  to  be  "  witnesses  unto  him 
unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,"  and  the 
orders  specially  contained  in  Paul's  own  call  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  uttered  by  the  lips  of  the 
same  prince  and  Saviour,  "  I  have  called  thee 
to  be  a  minister  and  a  witness  " — his  method 
was  to  furnish  a  twofold  basis  of  faith — "the 
word  of  God,  and  the  testimony  for  Jesus 
Christ."  The  documentary  credentials  of  the 
Great  Physician  who  came  down  from  God,  and 
the  testimony  of  living  witnesses  to  a  personal 
verification  of  the  truth  of  the  documents — a 
personal  demonstration  of  the  fact  that  Jesus, 
the  crucified  and  risen  Saviour  of  men,  was  in- 
deed their  personal  Saviour  from  sin,  and  was 
daily  preserving  them  from  sinning.  On  these 
evidences  commanding  the  confidence  of  all 
who  would  be  at  the  trouble,  in  the  spirit  of 
concurring  obedience,  to  examine  them,  Christ 


86  Self-Supporting  Missioj^s. 

was  proclaimed  as  a  living,  personal,  present 
Saviour,  witli  assurance  that  "  As  many  as  re- 
ceived him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  become 
the  sons  of  God." 

Thus,  avoiding  as  far  as  possible  all  debat- 
able issues,  many  thousands  of  Jews  received 
Christ,  and  were  born  again,  "not  of  blood, 
nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of 
man,  but  of  God."  Paul,  in  common  with  all 
the  apostles,  was  a  sound  logician.  The  mod- 
em method  of  most  of  the  learned  advocates 
of  Christianity  in  dealing  with  Buddhists,  Mo- 
hammedans,. Hindus,  and  unbelievers,  at  home 
and  abroad,  is  to  set  forth  their  tenets  of  belief 
in  the  form  of  dogmatic  propositions,  and  pro- 
ceed with  their  arguments  to  prove  that  those 
religions  of  their  opponents  are  all  wrong,  and 
that  theirs  is  all  right;  but  unfortunately 
their  opponents  do  not  admit  the  premises  on 
which  the  attacking  argument  is  based ;  hence, 
the  argument  is  worthless,  and  the  conclusion 
carries  with  it  no  convincing  force.  That  is 
what  Aristotle  designated  as  the  fallacy  of 
"  begging  the  question."  The  apostles,  as  sound 
logicians,  always  laid  the  major  premise  of  their 
arguments  in  the  region  of  admitted  truth,  un- 
questionable truth ;  hence,  their  arguments  were 


St.  Paul's  Methods.  87 

sound  and  solid,  and  tlieir  conclusions  came 
down  on  Jew  or  Gentile  alike  with  logical 
irresistibility.  In  reasoning  with  Jews  they 
always  ba^ed  their  argument  on  the  Scriptures ; 
with  Gentiles  they  dug  down  into  the  region 
of  their  natural  religiousness,  and  brought  to 
light  the  undeniable  facts  of  their  need,  and 
their  earnest  struggles  for  a  supply,  and  got  an 
unquestionable  foundation  on  which  to  build 
their  arguments,  clinching  and  crowning  them 
with  "the  Word  of  God,  and  the  testimony 
for  Jesus." 

3.  The  believing  Jews,  "  filled  with  joy  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  were  at  once  organized  into 
Christian  Churches  in  the  dwellings  of  their 
own  leading  people,  such  as  Gains,  of  Derbe, 
Aquilla,  of  Pontus,  Stephanus,  and  hundreds 
of  others.  "And  Paul  ordained  them  elders 
in  every  Church."  These  Churches  were  purely 
self-supporting  from  the  start.  It  seems  never 
to  have  entered  the  minds  of  inspired  apos- 
tles, nor  of  the  people,  that  the  great  work  of 
their  "  high  calling,"  the  salvation  of  the  world, 
required  the  construction  of  costly  edifices, 
with  their  expansive  appendages,  to  be  called 
churches,  involving  a  vast  outlay  of  funds, 
making  dependence  "  on  rich  men  a  necessity." 


88  SELF-SuppoETmG  Missions. 

Indeed,  to  check  the  natural  tendency  of  the 
Jewish  people  in  that  direction,  Paul,  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  using  Mount  Sinai  as 
the  symbol  of  the  Jewish  Church  in  legal 
bondage,  and  of  the  materialistic  display  and 
gorgeous  ritualism  of  the  temple  service  says, 
"  Ye  are  not  come  unto  the  mount  that  might 
be  touched,"  "  But  ye  are  come  unto  Mount 
Zion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem" — unto  the  metropolis  of 
the  spiritual  kingdom  of  the  Messianic  Son  of 
David,  all  invisible,  but  real  and  glorious  be- 
yond description.  He  goes  on  to  inform  them 
about  the  citizens,  government,  and  soul-saving 
resources  of  that  great  invisible  "city  of  the 
living  God." 

1.)  "An  innumerable  company  of  angels;" 
and  says  of  them,  "Are  they  not  all  minister- 
ing spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who 
shall  be  heii^s  of  salvation  ? " 

2.)  The  innumerable  hosts  of  "the  general 
assembly  and  the  Church  of  the  first-born" 
— the  collective  spiritual  Church  of  Christ  on 
earth — "which  are  written  in  heaven" — "and 
to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,"  the 
blood-washed  throng  who  have  left  their  bodies 
in  the  sleep  of  death  till  "  all  who  are  in  the 


St.  Paul's  Methods.  89 

graves  shall  hear  tlie  voice  of  the  Son  of  God 
and  come  forth;"  their  spirits  meantime  puri- 
fied and  perfected  in  holiness,  enjoy  a  standing 
of  citizenship  combining  royal  and  sacerdotal 
honors — "  kings  and  priests  unto  God." 

3.)  The  Thi'one  of  government  and  of  me- 
diation. "We  have  come  to  God  the  Judge 
of  all,"  "  And  to  Jesus,  the  Mediator  of  the 
new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of  sprink- 
ling," by  the  merit  of  which  all  the  fallen  race 
may  obtain  acquittal  from  the  penalty  of  death, 
and  pardon  for  all  their  sins ;  and  by  its  puri- 
fying virtue,  applied  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  "  may 
be  cleansed  from  all  unrighteousness,"  and  so 
perfected  in  all  the  graces  of  the  Spirit  as  to 
be  prepared  for  joint  heirship  "with  Jesus 
Christ." 

4.  The  conversion  of  Jews,  and  their  organ- 
ization into  Christian  Churches,  was  not  the  end, 
but  a  subsidiary  means  to  the  great  end  of  his 
apostolic  commission  from  God.  The  Lord  said 
to  Ananias,  "  He  is  a  chosen  vessel  unto  me  to 
bear  my  name  before  the  Gentiles,  and  kings 
and  children  of  Israel."  Paul  to  the  Church 
at  Kome  says,  "  I  speak  to  you  Gentiles,  inas- 
much as  I  am  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles;  I 
magnify  mine  office."     The  children   of  Israel 


90  SELF-SuppoETiNa  Missio:n-s. 

were  embraced  in  his  mission  in  common  with 
the  people  of  the  Gentile  nations,  and  for  the 
purposes  before  stated ;  drawn,  too,  by  patriotic 
instinct  and  Christlike  sympathy  for  his  own 
countrymen,  he  always  commenced  his  ministry 
in  foreign  countries  among  them,  and  utilized 
them  to  the  utmost  of  his  power  as  a  personal 
and  combined  agency  for  the  evangelization  of 
the  Gentile  nations.  He  hence  explained  to 
them  and  to  the  Gentiles  alike,  w^hat  had  been 
a  hidden  mystery  to  the  Jewish  people  through 
the  ages,  that  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  under 
which  the  Jews  claimed  exclusive  rights  to 
God's  covenanted  mercies  in  Messiah,  was  but 
a  modern  and  subsidiary  provision  for  carry- 
ing into  effect  the  "purpose  of  God,"  dating 
back  to  eternity  past,  and  embracing  impar- 
tially and  universally  all  "the  nations,"  and 
"all  the  families  of  the  earth."  The  terms 
"election  of  grace,"  " f oreordination,"  "pre- 
destination," and  "foreknowledge,"  are  terms 
belonging  to  the  records  of  chartered  rights  of 
the  human  race — ^not  rights  of  merit,  but  of 
mercy,  based  on  God's  "  eternal  purpose,"  se- 
cured through  "the  blood  of  the  everlasting 
covenant,"  and  applied  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
all  w^ho  receive  Christ,  Jew  or  Greek.     Paul 


St.  Paul's  Methods.  91 

thus  cleared  away  the  rubbish  of  Jewish  ex- 
clusive dogmas,  and  laid  a  basis  of  faith  for 
the  Gentile  nations. 

Now,  in  no  way  to  hinder  but  in  many  ways 
to  help  the  work  of  foreign  missionary  socie- 
ties, God  is  using  me  and  my  fellow- workers 
as  a  humble  but  special  body  of  agency  to 
make  a  practical  application  of  these  Pauline 
principles  of  self-supporting  missionary  work, 
utilizing  the  dispersed  English-speaking  people 
of  foreign  nations,  as  St.  Paul  did  the  Jews. 
In  common  with  the  missionaries  of  the  organ- 
ized Societies,  we  have  a  great  deal  of  educa- 
tional and  other  preparatory  work  to  do,  and 
hence  will  require  time  and  patience  to  secure 
the  Pentecostal  measure  of  Pauline  soul-saving 
successes;  but  we  have  unfaltering  faith  in 
God,  and  his  Pauline  methods  of  missionary 
work,  and  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  we 
are  going  on  to  victoiy. 


92  Self-Supporting  Missions. 


IX. 

PERSONAL  PREPARATION    FOR  FOUNDING 
SELF-SUPPORTING   MISSIONS. 

The  question  is  often  put  to  me,  "  What  led 
you  into  this  line  of  mission  work  ? " 

To  answer  in  a  word,  I  can  only  say  that  I 
was  led  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  has  engaged 
to  lead  every  one  who  will  "  walk  after  "  him, 
in  the  way  that  he  shall  choose. 

The  founding  of  Self-supporting  Missions 
was  no  conception  nor  plan  of  my  own.  I  can 
see  now  that  the  Lord  has  given  me  a  special 
training  for  this  business,  as  long  as  the  ap- 
prenticeship of  Moses  in  the  wildernesss. 

The  Lord  Jesus  "took  me"  in  effect  "into 
his  arms  and  blessed"  me  mth  pardon  and 
conscious  peace  with  God  when  a  "  little  child  " 
of  about  eight  summers.  The  prophetic  unction 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  thrilled  my  heart  in  those 
days  of  my  early  boyhood.  My  parents,  though 
at  that  time  strangers  to  the  converting  grace 
of  God,  taught  me  very  early  to  read  the  Script- 
ures ;  and  I  got  much  of  gospel  teaching  into 
my  memory.     Hearing   a   colored   girl  repeat 


Personal  Prepaeation".  93 

part  of  tlie  experience  of  a  colored  man,  wlio 
testified  tliat  lie  had  got  his  sins  forgiven, 
and  coupling  that  testimony  for  Jesus  with  the 
word  of  God,  I  got  a  basis  of  faith,  and  was 
thus  led  to  seek  and  receive  Jesus  as  my 
Saviour. 

But  being  ignorant  of  Satan's  devices,  after 
some  months  of  happy  union  with  Jesus,  I  was 
^'entangled  and  overcome."  One  day  when, 
with  my  little  hoe,  I  was  waging  a  war  with 
the  w^eeds  in  my  father's  cornfield,  Satan  came 
to  me.  I  was  not  acquainted  with  Satan  then, 
and  being  invisible,  I  knew  not  his  presence 
nor  his  designs  upon  me. 

He  said  to  my  inner  person,  "  Have  you  not 
read  what  the  poor  sinners  did  in  Jerusalem 
when  they  repented  and  obtained  the  forgive- 
ness of  their  sins  ? " 

"  Yes,  ^  they  sold  their  possessions  and  goods, 
and  parted  them  to  all  men,  as  every  man  had 
need.'  *  Barnabas  having  land,  sold  it,  and 
brought  the  money  and  laid  it  down  at  the 
apostles'  feet.'  " 

"  Have  you  sold  out  all  your  goods  and  given 
away  the  money  ? " 

"  No,  I  have  not." 

"Well,  you  see  how  it  is.     You  can't  be  a 


54  S:EL$'-STJPPt)RTIlN'G    MlBBIDl?5-S. 

follower  of  Jesus  unless  you  sell  all  that  you 
have  and  give  the  money  to  the  poor;  and, 
moreover,  you  never  can  be  the  owner  of  any 
property  as  long  as  you  live." 

I  hung  my  head,  and  thus  soliloquized,  ^^I 
have  but  little,  but  I  must  sell  all  that  I  have 
and  give  the  money  to  such  as  are  in  need." 
In  my  mind  I  began  at  once  to  take  stock  of 
my  effects,  intent  on  following  the  example  of 
the  saved  sinners  in  Jerusalem.  My  small 
stock  of  homespun  apparel  I  set  down  as  ex- 
empt. The  only  things  I  could  recall,  as  coming 
under  the  gospel  requirement,  were  a  few  calf- 
skins and  sheep-skins,  and  a  dog-skin  or  two 
dowQ  in  my  father's  tan  vats.  I  said  to  myself, 
"How  can  I  get  them  out  to  sell  them?  I 
don't  see  how  I  can  do  it.  O  I  wish  I  could, 
but  I  can't !  " 

Satan  had  seized  an  arrow  from  God's  quiver 
and  thrust  it  through  me,  and  stood  over  me  in 
a  grim,  malicious  self-gratification,  peculiar  to 
himself,  aud  said :  "  God  requires  you  to  do 
what  you  cannot  do.  Is  it  not  a  hard  require- 
ment ? " 

I  said  in  my  heart,  "  It  seems  so ;  yes,  it  is 
so ! "  and  my  light  went  out,  and  the  pall  of 
death  i^as  thrown  over  my  spirit.     O,  if  I  had 


known  any  body  wlio  knew  Jesus,  or  could 
have  had  a  Philip  near  to  expound  to  me  the 
Scriptures — some  one  even  to  whisper  in  my  ear 
that  I  might  understand  that  those  examples  of 
liberality  were  not  mandatory,  but  simply  his- 
torical, showing  the  power  of  Christian  love 
to  relieve  the  necessities  of  the  pilgrim  Jews 
who  had  come  from  all  parts  of  the  Roman 
world  to  their  annual  Pentecostal  feast,  and 
whose  conversion  to  God  had  changed  all  their 
plans,  many  of  them  disinherited,  and  all  of 
them  detained  for  a  time  in  the  holy  city. 
Without  extraordinary  benevolence  on  the 
part  of  resident  believers,  to  meet  so  great 
an  emergency,  want  and  famine  and  death 
would  have  come  to  many  of  their  foreign 
brethren  and  sisters.  A  similar  demand  now 
would  draw  out  a  similar  supply,  for  Christian 
sympathy  and  fraternal  love  are  the  same  now 
as  then.  God's  "  law  of  the  tithe,"  and  ordinaiy 
"  free-will  offerings,"  embodied  simply  the  prin- 
ciple of  proportionate  giving  "according  a^  the 
Lord  had  prospered  them." 

Barnabas  sold  his  land  and  laid  down  the 
money  and  himself  at  the  apostles'  feet — his 
money  to  relieve  the  suffering  saints,  and  him- 
seK  as  a  liffe  witness  and  worker  to  rescue  poor 


96  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

sinners.  His  sister  Mary,  with  equal  devotion 
to  God,  kept  her  land,  and  was  thus  enabled  to 
keep  an  open  house  in  Jerusalem,  as  a  home  for 
the  preachers  and  for  the  assembly  of  the  saints. 
It  was  at  the  house  of  Mary,  who  was  the 
mother  of  John  Mark,  in  which  the  prayer- 
meeting  was  held  where  "  many  were  gathered 
together  "  to  pray  Peter  out  of  prison.  When 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  delivered  him,  he  took 
refuge  straightway  in  the  house  of  Maiy.  Acts 
xii,  12. 

A  little  Scripture  exposition  of  that  sort 
would  have  saved  me  from  that  horrible  defeat 
and  a  dozen  years  of  fruitless  struggles  to  be 
good,  alternating  with  as  many  failures  and 
wretched  relapses  into  sin.  I  feel  confident  to 
this  day,  that  if  I  had  then  been  within  reach 
of  the  helpful  methods  of  Methodism  I  should 
have  stood  "fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  had  made  me  free."  I  had  never  heard 
of  a  Methodist  at  that  time,  and  a  few  years 
later,  when  I  did  hear  of  them,  I  heard  so  many 
evil  reports  against  them  that  I  wanted  nothing 
to  do  with  them.  In  course  of  time,  however, 
happily  for  me,  the  advancing  armies  of  "the 
sect  every -where  spoken  against,"  covered  the 
country  in  which  I  lived,  and  as  far  back  as 


Peksot^al  Preparatioi^.  97 

1835  I  joined  them,  but,  being  a  demoralized 
backslider,  I  was  so  dark  and  unbelieving  that 
it  was  not  till  August  28,  1841,  that  I  was, 
by  a  miracle  of  mercy,  restored  to  my  stand- 
ing in  the  family  of  God.  I  ^vsis  so  grateful 
to  my  heavenly  Father  for  my  deliverance 
from  the  horrible  pit  in  which  I  had  been 
so  long  imprisoned  by  Satan,  and  so  filled  with 
love  and  sympathy  for  perishing  sinners,  that, 
though  extremely  bashful  and  unobtrusive 
by  nature,  I  commenced  at  once  to  work  and 
witness  for  Jesus.  God  gave  me  success  from 
the  first  day  after  my  own  deliverance,  so  that 
I  soon  learned  to  test  all  my  work  for  God  by 
its  effectiveness  in  soul-saving,  and  thus  proved 
the  truth  of  a  more  modern  saying,  "  Nothing 
succeeds  like  success." 

I  suppose  every  young  terrier  has  in  him  an 
instinctive  antipathy  to  rats,  but  unless  from 
the  first  he  is  trained  to  catch  and  craunch,  he 
will  never  make  a  successful  ratter.  He  will 
spend  his  life  in  scenting  rats  in  a  hay  mow, 
and  barking  at  them,  but  never  kill  any.  The 
difference  is  not  in    the  instinct,   but   in   its 

proper  development  and  application. 

7 


98  Self-Suppop.ting  Missions. 

Tlie  spiritual  instinct  of  every  new-born  soul 
exclaims : 

"  O  that  the  world  might  taste  and  see 
The  riches  of  his  grace  I 
The  arms  of  love  that  compass  me 
"Would  all  mankind  embrace." 

That  heaven-born  principle  may  be  suppressed 
or  frittered  away  in  a  life-long  religious  routine 
of  barking  instead  of  biting. 

I  have  known  hundreds  of  young  converts 
who  were  used  by  the  Spirit  in  leading  souls 
to  Jesus  the  first  week  of  their  new  life.  Com- 
mencing on  that  line  they  rapidly  develop  their 
courage  and  skill,  and  God  can  depend  upon 
them  to  obey  orders,  and  they  become  valiant 
soldiers  for  Jesus. 

As  soon  as  Andrew  "  found  the  Messiah,"  he 
went  for  his  brother  Simon,  "  and  brought  him 
to  Jesus."  What  a  life-long  inspiration  that 
was  to  Andrew ! 

So  also,  "Philip  findeth  Nathanael,  and  said 
unto  him.  We  have  found  him,  of  whom  Mo- 
ses in  the  law  and  the  prophets  did  write,  Je- 
sus of  Nazareth,  the  son  of  Joseph."  Philip 
had  the  happiness  of  seeing  his  friend  saved 
that  very  hour.     That  is  God's  way.     Happily 


Peesonal  Preparation.  99 

for  me,  I  was  put  into  it  from  the  beginning 
of  my  new  life. 

I  thus  began  to  drink  at  the  fountain  struck 
by  the  Prophet  Joel,  when  the  Lord  said  to 
him,  "It  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days, 
that  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh ; 
and  your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall  proph- 
ecy, your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams, 
your  young  men  shall  see  visions."  Dreams 
and  visions  are  for  the  instruction  of  ignorance 
in  old  men,  and  of  inexperience  in  young 
men. 

A  few  weeks  after  I  was  saved  I  dreamed 
that  I  was  at  a  preaching  service,  and  at  the 
close,  when  the  preacher  dismissed  the  congre- 
gation, he  remained  standing  in  the  pulpit  and 
sang  a  hymn.  Most  of  the  people  in  attend- 
ance retired,  but  a  portion  remained,  and  as  I 
sat  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  looking  at  the  min- 
ister, he  suddenly  stopped  his  singing,  and  fix- 
ing his  eyes  on  me,  said,  "  "William,  God  has  a 
great  work  for  you  to  do,  and  if  you  will  '  con- 
fer not  vdth  flesh  and  blood,'  turn  neither  to 
the  right  nor  to  the  left,  but  follow  the  lead- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit,  your  wisdom  will 
increase  like  the  continual  dropping  into  a 
bucket." 


100  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

In  "my  dream  I  saw  the  empty  bucket,  and 
the  pure,  sparkling  drops  falling  into  it,  and 
learned  from  that  hour  never  to  say  in  response 
to  any  call  to  perform  duty,  "  Please  to  excuse 
me,  I  am  not  prepared." 

The  next  Sabbath  after  this  vision  of  the 
night  the  Kev.  Wm.  Enos,  of  the  Baltimore 
Conference,  "  our  preacher  in  charge,"  at  the 
close  of  his  sermon,  dismissed  the  congregation, 
and,  while  the  majority  of  the  people  were  re- 
tiring, the  preacher  remained  standing  in  the 
pulpit  and  sang  a  hymn.  He  stopped  suddenly 
and  looked  at  me,  and  then  came  down  to 
me  and  said,  "William,  you  will  please  to  go 
out." 

I  grabbed  my  hat  and  cut  for  home,  a  dis- 
tance of  two  miles.  Striding  over  the  hills 
like  a  racer,  I  was  wondering  what  upon  earth 
I  could  have  done,  that  our  preacher  should 
order  me  out  of  the  class-meeting. 

When  my  father  returned  home  he  said, 
"Will,  what  became  of  you?  Brother  Enos 
sent  me  out  to  call  you  in,  and  I  couldn't  find 
you  anywhere." 

"  No,  sir.  I  was  not  to  be  found  in  those 
pai-ts.  When  the  preacher  ordered  me  out  of 
the  house  I  thought  it  was  time  for  me  to  start, 


Personal  Preparation.  101 

and  the  grass  had  no  time  for  growing  under 
my  feet  between  that  and  home." 

"  Well,  you  had  nothing  to  be  scared  about. 
When  you  left,  Brother  Enos  addressed  the 
class,  and  said,  ^  I  have  had  my  eye  on  William 
Taylor  for  some  time,  and  I  am  satisfied  that 
God  has  a  great  work  for  him  to  do,  and  if  you 
all  think  as  I  do  in  regard  to  him,  and  will 
recommend  him,  I  will  be  glad  to  give  him  a 
license  to  exhort.'  The  vote  was  unanimous ; 
and  then  Brother  Enos  said  to  me,  ^  Go  and  tell 
William  to  come  in;'  and  I  felt  ashamed  in 
going  back  to  report  to  Brother  Enos  that  you 
were  not  within  sight  or  hearing." 

I  said  but  little,  but  thought  much.  My 
dream  just  at  this  time  recurred  to  my  mind, 
wdth  the  beginning  of  its  fulfillment,  and  I  said 
to  myself,  "  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ? 
I  have  nothing  but  an  empty  bucket,  but  I  see 
how  it  is  to  be  filled,  and  I  have  nothing  to  do 
but  to  obey  the  orders  of  my  Sovereign  and 
Saviour.  He  has  not  promised  to  fill  me  with 
knowledge,  but  with  %oisdom^  so  that  I  may 
adapt  means  to  ends,  and,  with  a  little  knowl- 
edge, do  great  execution." 

I  soon  after  began  to  recognize  the  call  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  devote  my  life  wholly  to 


102  SELF-SuppoRTmG  Missions. 

soul-saving.  Nothing  else  appeared  to  me  to  be 
worth  living  for,  and  I  became  so  burdened  in 
spirit  as  to  jeopardize  my  health  of  body  and 
mind. 

Then  in  my  ignorance  the  I^ord  again  "in- 
structed me  in  the  night  season." 

In  my  sleep  an  invisible  person,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  close  to  me,  talked  most  kindly 
and  sweetly  to  my  spirit,  reminding  me  of  the 
command  of  Jesus  to  his  disciples,  "that  they 
should  not  depart  from  Jerusalem,  but  wait  for 
the  promise  of  the  Father,  which,  saith  he,  ye 
have  heard  of  me."  ..."  Ye  shall  receive 
power,  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon 
you."  "  Then,"  continued  my  heavenly  teacher, 
"  the  prophetic  spirit  of  Jonah  shall  be  given 
to  you." 

The  anticipatory  thrill  of  such  a  commission 
went  through  me,  and  I  woke,  and  patiently 
waited  while  I  continued  to  work  with  earnest- 
ness. 

Some  weeks  afterward  Brother  Enos  gave 
me  a  written  license  to  exhort.  The  heading 
was  beautifully  executed  in  German  letters  by 
the  hand  of  Sister  Enos,  who  was  a  German 
scholar.  Every  line,  written  with  exquisite 
skill,  seemed  to  be  touched  with  tender  sympa- 


Personal  Pkeparation^.  103 

tliy  for  an  awkward  youtli  wlio  could  scarcely 
muster  courage  enough  to  walk  up  and  shake 
hands  with  the  refined  wife  of  "  our  preacher." 

I  read  that  paper  again  and  again,  and  said 
to  myself,  "  An  official  exhorter  in  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church."  What  a  responsibility, 
and  nothing  with  which  to  meet  it  but  an 
empty  bucket !  The  Lord  will  help  me,  and 
I'll  "  confer  not  with  flesh  and  blood,"  but  go 
straight  forward  as  the  Lord  shall  lead  me,  and 
let  him  fill  my  bucket,  and  give  me  the  pro- 
phetic commission  of  Jonah,  and  use  me  as 
seemeth  good  unto  him." 

That  license  was  never  renewed,  for  before 
it  was  a  year  old  I  was  sent  off  by  Rev.  N.  J. 
B.  Morgan,  "our  Presiding  Elder,"  as  junior 
preacher  under  Eev.  Thomas  Busey,  on  "  Frank- 
lin Circuit." 

Brother  Busey  was  absent  from  the  circuit 
when  I  arrived,  and  I  had  filled  half  a  dozen  of 
the  appointments  and  saw  a  number  of  souls 
saved  before  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
him. 

A  brother  who  had  heard  me  preach  at  one 
of  the  appointments  gave  him  a  description  of 
the  new  preacher  to  this  effect :  "  He  is  tall  and 
slender,  active  and  strong;  wears  a  blue  coat. 


104  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

with  brass  buttons;  his  legs  extend  three  or 
four  inches  lower  than  his  pants,  and  he  wears 
the  broadest-toed  boots  that  have  ever  been 
seen  in  these  parts ;  he  has  had  but  little  expe- 
rience in  preaching,  but  he  is  desperately  in 
earnest,  and  has  the  stuff  in  him  to  make  a 
preacher,  and  he  can  sing  just  as  loud  as  he 
likes." 

So  my  colleague  got  my  measure  before  he 
saw  me,  and  was  ever  to  me  a  most  loving, 
appreciative,  and  true  friend.  He  has  long 
since  2:one  to  his  reward. 

I  traveled  four  circuits  in  the  mountains  of 
Virginia.  The  fourth — Sweet  Springs  Circuit 
— I  organized.  I  took  the  timber  from  the 
stump,  and  in  one  year  built  up  a  seK-support- 
ing  circuit  that  received  and  supported  a  mar- 
ried preacher  the  next  year. 

I  recently  met  a  minister  in  the  Kansas  Con- 
ference, transf eiTed  from  Virginia,  who  told  me 
that  he  traveled  Sweet  Springs  Circuit  but  a 
few  years  ago,  and,  said  he,  "Though  it  has 
passed  through  the  devastations  of  the  war  it 
stands  firmly  on  the  foundation  of  old  loyal 
Methodism  on  which  you  built  it.  The  new 
societies  you  formed  are  all  growing,  the  chapels 
you  projected  were  all  completed,  and  are  filled 


Personal  Preparation.  105 

witli  attentive  hearers.  The  class-books  you 
gave  them  are  still  in  the  hands  of  the  leaders, 
and  regularly  marked  each  week,  as  you  taught 
them— ;^,  for  present;  A,  for  hindered;  d^  for 
distant ;  s^  for  sick ;  and  a,  for  absent.  When 
the  first  books  were  filled  up,  instead  of  laying 
them  aside,  the  leaders  stitched  a  new  one  to 
each  old  one,  and  have  been  adding  on  ever 
since,  so  that  each  bundle  of  class-books  con- 
tains the  record  of  the  members  of  each  class 
from  the  beginning." 

God  gave  me  a  harvest  of  souls  often  in  the 
midst  of  opposition  amounting  to  personal  vio- 
lence to  seekers,  and  threats  against  the  preacher, 
on  each  of  the  four  Virginia  Circuits  I  trav- 
eled. It  was  a  good  four  years'  course  in  "  Brush 
College." 

I  was  stationed  next  in  Georgetown,  District 
of  Columbia,  as  junior  of  Rev.  Henry  Tarring, 
a  weeping  prophet  and  good  man  of  God,  now 
in  heaven. 

In  addition  to  my  regular  pulpit  and  pastoral 
work,  both  in  "  the  white  and  colored  Churches  " 
of  that  city,  as  soon  as  the  spring  birds  began 
their  songs,  I  opened  my  gospel  commission  in 
the  "Georgetown  Market."  We  had  great 
crowds,  good  order,  and  great  religious  interest. 


106  SELr-SuppoRTiNG  Missions. 

Many  outsiders  were  tlius  brought  to  tlie  liouse 
of  the  Lord  and  converted. 

The  next  year  I  was  re-appointed  to  George- 
town, as  junior  of  Rev.  Thomas  Sewall,  "the 
Apollos  of  the  Baltimore  Conference,"  but  he 
was  taken  ill,  and  spent  the  latter  half  of  the 
year  in  Montgomery,  Alabama,  so  that  I  had 
double  work,  but  withal  kept  up  regularly  the 
market-house  preaching. 

I  was  next,  in  March,  1848,  stationed  in 
Baltimore  city,  as  junior  of  C.  B.  Tippett  and 
John  S.  Martin.  We  had  three  churches,  (Exe- 
ter-street, Monument-street,  and  Harford  Ave- 
nue,) and  an  aggregate  membership  of  1,800. 

Soon  after  I  anived  I  commenced  open-air 
preaching  in  Belair  Market,  with  larger  crowds 
and  more  manifest  results  than  we  had  in 
Georgetown. 

During  that  summer,  while  reading  of  the 
physical  manifestations  attending  the  preach- 
ing of  Benjamin  Abbott — people  falling  under 
his  preaching  like  men  slain  in  battle — I  be- 
came distressingly  concerned  on  the  subject.  I 
said  to  myself,  "  Why  is  it  that  in  all  my  min- 
istry I  have  never  yet  succeeded  in  knocking 
the  senses  out  of  any  poor  sinner  ? "  I  prayed 
to  the  Lord  about  it,  asking  not  for  fame  or  a 


Personal  Preparation.  107 

sliow  of  power,  but  tlie  higliest  measure  of 
effectiveness  possible  for  me  in  the  salvation  of 
sinners  for  his  glory. 

Pending  that  question,  I  was  preaching  one 
Sabbath  morning  in  Monument-street  Church 
on  the  parable  of  the  barren  fig-tree;  (I  don't 
remember  that  I  ever  preached  from  it  before 
or  since.)  Near  the  close  of  the  discourse  a 
man  fell  to  the  floor  suddenly  as  if  he  had  been 
shot.  Immediately  two  or  three  men  gathered 
him  up  and  carried  him  out. 

His  wife  followed,  wringing  her  hands  and 
crying,  "  O  my  poor  husband  is  dead,  and  he 
is  unprepared  to  meet  his  God ! " 

The  man,  in  a  state  of  insensibility,  was  borne 
to  a  carriage  and  hauled  home  and  laid  on  his 
bed.  A  doctor  was  at  once  called,  who  came 
in  haste  and  examined  his  patient,  and  had  a 
large  mustard  plaster  laid  over  his  breast  and 
stomach,  and  set  a  couple  of  strong  men  to 
work  in  rubbing  his  extremities  to  promote 
circulation. 

After  about  an  hour  the  man  woke  up  into 
a  state  of  consciousness,  and,  taking  hold  of  the 
mustard  plaster,  he  said,  "  What  is  this  ? " 

"That  is  a  mustard  plaster  put  on  by  the 
doctor.     YouVe  been  very  sick." 


108  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

"  Sick !"  lie  replied;  "  notliing  ails  me  but  sin. 
Mustard   wont   take  it    out.      Send    for    Mr. 

Taylor." 

A  messenger  came  in  haste  for  me,  and  I 
went  at  once  and  found  my  man  weeping  on 
account  of  his  sins.  He  was  still  in  bed  and 
the  men  were  rubbing  his  feet.  I  instructed 
him  and  prayed  for  him,  and  in  about  an  hour, 
as  1  continued  to  labor  with  him,  he  surren- 
dered and  received  JeSus,  and  was  grandly 
saved.  He  leaped  out  of  bed  and  praised 
God,  and  "  testified  to  all  around  what  a  dear 
Savioui'  he  had  found." 

That  afternoon,  in  my  discourse  in  the  mar- 
ket, I  was  illustrating  the  power  of  Grod  to 
awaken  and  save  sinners,  and  narrated  the 
facts  and  incidents  of  the  man  who  had  been 
treated  for  the  disease  of  sin  in  the  soul  by  an 
application  of  mustard  to  his  body,  and  added, 
"  If  the  brother  is  present  he  had  better  come 
up  on  the  butcher's  block  here,  where  the  peo- 
ple can  see  him,  and  tell  them  what  the  Lord 
has  done  for  him." 

The  crowd  was  great,  and  I  knew  not 
whether  my  man  was  present  or  not,  but  im- 
mediately he  came  to  the  front,  and,  mounting 
the  block,  testified  distinctly  to  the  facts  in  his 


Personal  Preparatiois-.  109 

case.  He  then  stepped  down  and  I  went  on 
with  my  discourse  in  application  of  the  evidence 
adduced. 

A  grocer,  a  non-church  goer,  by  the  name  of 
Shilling,  was  on  a  Sunday  walk  with  his  wife, 
and  hearing  the  singing  at  the  opening  of  our 
service,  they  came  and  stood  in  the  street,  out- 
side the  circle  of  the  crowd,  and  heard  the 
gospel  proclamation.  The  arrows  of  truth 
pierced  his  conscience,  and  near  the  close  of  the 
discourse  he  left  his  wife  standing  in  the  street 
and  pressed  his  way  through,  and,  with  loud 
weeping,  kneeled  down  on  the  pavement  and 
began  to  cry  to  God  for  mercy.  A  host  of 
earnest  workers  gathered  round  him,  and  in 
the  old-fashioned  way  in  which  I  had  always 
been  accustomed  to  work,  we  instructed  him, 
and  sang  and  prayed  and  waited  mth  him  till 
he  turned  away  from  all  his  sins  and  self- 
dependence,  and  accepted  Christ.  He  got  a 
notification  from  the  throne,  through  the  un- 
erring Spirit,  of  his  acquittal,  pardon  and  adop- 
tion, and  was  at  once  regenerated  by  the  Spirit, 
and  shouted  praise  to  God,  and  testified  there, 
in  the  open  market,  to  the  saving  power  of 
Jesus. 

So  that  day  I  was  furnished  with  an  example 


110  SELF-SuPPORTINa    MISSIONS. 

of  the  two  kinds  of  work,  and  I  said  to  myself, 
"I  will  take  stock  of  these  two  cases,  and  see 
wliicli  will  yield  the  larger  return  for  the  glory 
of  God." 

The  man  who  was  stricken  down  and  blistered 
with  the  mustard  was  a  quiet,  easy-going 
brother.  I  am  not  aware  that  he  backslid. 
I  don't  think  he  did,  but  I  never  could  hear  of 
any  good  that  he  did  in  the  Church,  beyond  a 
quiet  example  of  "  do-nothing  religion." 

My  man  Shilling  hunted  up  his  wife  among 
the  excited  multitude,  and,  with  streaming  eyes 
and  joyful  lips,  told  her  that  he  had  got  all 
his  sins  forgiven,  and  that  the  loving  Saviour 
was  waiting  to  save  her. 

They  returned  to  their  home,  and  he  at  once 
told  the  good  news  to  his  mother-in-law,  and 
got  the  mother  and  daughter  down  on  their 
knees,  and  prayed  for  them.  In  a  few  days 
they  also  received  Jesus  and  were  saved. 
Brother  Shilling  continued  on  that  line  of 
active  work  for  God  with  great  success. 

Thirty-one  years  afterward  I  preached  one 
night  in  Frederick  City,  Md.,  and  at  the  close,  a 
man  came  up  and  grasped  my  hand,  saying, 
"  This  was  the  hand  that  led  me  to  Jesus  thirty- 
one  years  ago  in  Belair  Market.     God  has  kept 


Personal  Peeparation.  Ill 

me  ever  since.     I  shall  be  a  star  in  your  crown 
of  rejoicing  in  heaven.     My  name  is  Shilling." 

Well,  from  the  time  of  his  conversion  to 
God  I  never  asked  the  Lord  to  knock  any  poor 
sinner  out  of  his  senses  under  my  preaching. 
I  preferred  that  they  should  keep  their  senses 
all  wide  awake  that  I  might  reason  with  them 
intelligibly  on  ''  righteousness  and  temperance 
and  judgment,"  and  salvation  in  Jesus. 

I  have  had  the  happiness  of  seeing  many 
thousands  of  all  complexions  of  men  and  women 
saved  since  then,  but  all  of  them,  so  far  as  I 
ever  knew,  had  a  keen  consciousness  of  their 
utterly  helpless  and  ruined  condition,  a  clear 
perception  of  the  documentary  and  verbal  evi- 
dences, furnishing  a  basis  for  their  faith,  and 
intelligently  accepted  Jesus,  and  consciously 
received  the  Spirit's  witness  and  regenerating 
w^ork  in  their  hearts. 

In  October,  1848, 1  was  appointed  by  Bishop 
Waugh,  under  the  direction  of  the  Missionary 
Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as 
a  missionary  to  California. 

The  gold  was  discovered  in  California  in 
January,  1848.  The  treaty  ceding  California 
under  purchase  to  the  United  States  by  Mexico 
was  signed  in  May,  1848,  before  the  news  of 


112  SELr-SuPPOETING    MISSIONS. 

tlie  gold  discovery  reacted  the  high  contract- 
ing parties.  The  tide  of  emigration  to  the 
then  far-off  land  of  gold  was  beginning  to 
rise  in  the  autumn  of  that  year.  I  expected 
to  start  off  straightway,  and  never  in  this 
life  see  home  or  kindred  again.  My  starting, 
however,  was  delayed  till  after  the  session 
of  my  Conference,  in  March,  1849.  The  delay 
was  occasioned  by  opposition  raised  by  some 
leading  officials  against  my  being  removed 
from  my  charge. 

After  a  five-months'  voyage  round  Cape 
Horn  I  arrived,  with  my  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren, in  San  Francisco,  then  a  city  of  tents,  in 
September,  1849. 

Then  for  seven  years  in  that  city,  besides 
my  regular  pulpit  and  pastoral  work,  I  preached 
from  one  to  three  times  each  Sabbath — an  ag- 
gregate of  about  600  sermons — to  the  masses 
in  the  open  squares  and  streets  of  the  city. 
(Illustrative  details  of  this  work  are  recorded 
in  my  book  entitled,  *' Seven  Years'  Street- 
preaching  in  San  Francisco.") 

Having  thus  gone  through  a  course  of  seven 
years  in  the  old  Baltimore  Conference,  and 
seven  years  in  San  Francisco,  among  the  repre- 
sentatives of  nearly  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 


Personal  Preparation.  113 

it  was  manifest  tliat  I  was  being  educated  for 
something  beyond  the  ordinary  routine  of  a 
Methodist  minister's  work.  I  had  no  thought 
of  a  change,  however,  till,  by  a  strange  and  un- 
expected providence,  I  was  thrown  out  of  the 
regular  orbit  of  my  itinerant  life,  into  a  comet- 
like path  leading  on  through  immeasurable 
space.  It  was  not  of  my  choosing,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  greatest  grief  of  ray  life  up  to 
that  time.  My  ambition  was  to  stay  at  home 
in  "  the  regular  work,"  with  my  dear  wife  and 
children ;  but  my  loyalty  to  God,  which  had 
been  perfected  during  the  first  four  years  of  my 
spiritual  life,  would  not  allow  me  to  shrink 
for  one  moment  from  any  responsibility  the 
Lord  might  lay  upon  me,  whether  for  life  or 
death. 

Then  followed  years  of  traveling  and  preach- 
ing six  days  per  week  in  the  United  States  and 
Canadas ;  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland ; 
in  the  Australian  Colonies,  New  Zealand,  and 
Tasmania;  in  the  West  India  Islands,  and 
South  America;  in  the  English  Colonies  of 
Africa,  and  among  the  nations  of  Kaffraria. 
(For  full  details  of  the  latter  see  my  book, 
"  Christian  Adventures  in  South  Africa.") 

After  my  second  revival   campaign  in  the 
8 


114  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Australian  colonies  and  Tasmania,  I  went 
thence,  in  1870,  to  Ceylon,  and  in  tlie  missions 
founded  by  Dr.  Coke's  pioneer  band  of  mission- 
aries for  the  east,  we  had,  according  to  the 
showing  of  the  missionaries,  a  thousand  Singha- 
lese converted  to  God. 

In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  I  went  on  to 
India,  and  spent  over  a  year  in  native  work, 
through  interpreters,  with  the  missionaries  of 
half  a  dozen  different  denominations  of  Chris- 
tians. 

In  all  this  line  of  work,  without  a  week's  in- 
termission, except  when  voyaging  at  sea,  run- 
ning through  so  many  years,  I  got  an  education 
that  could  not  be  obtained  in  any  other  school. 

I  also  formed  alliances  of  friendship  and 
Christian  brotherhood  throughout  the  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  all  her  colonies, 
which  are  of  incalculable  value  to  me  now  in 
utilizing  English  agency  as  the  entering  wedge 
for  opening  Self-supporting  Missions  in  foreign 
lands. 

In  the  autumn  of  1871  I  went  by  special  in- 
vitation to  labor  a  few  weeks  with  missionaries 
of  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  in 
the  Bombay  Presidency.  I  preached  for  them 
a  couple  of  weeks  at  Ahmed  nugger,  and  then 


Personal  Preparation.  115 

a  montli  with  Kev.  Charles  Harding,  one  of 
their  noble  men  in  Bombay. 

While  preaching  thus,  day  and  night,  through 
interpreters,  in  the  American  chapel,  to  Ma- 
ratti  natives,  a  number  of  English-speaking 
people,  who  came  to  see  "  the  wonder,"  were 
awakened  and  saved.  I  had  no  designs  on 
them,  nor  had  they  any  designs  on  me.  I 
thought  I  was  finishing  my  work  in  India  and 
expected  soon  to  sail  from  Bombay  to  my  loved 
and  longed-for  home  in  California. 

But  step  by  step  God  was  leading  me  in  a 
way  that  I  knew  not,  till  I  found  myself  the 
pastor  of  a  hundred  new-born  souls  in  that 
city,  who  were  depending  on  me  for  ministerial 
guidance  and  help. 

It  may  be  proper  to  remark  that  I  was  not 
sent  to  this  work  by  any  missionary  society,  and 
did  not  commence  my  work  among  the  English 
and  Eurasians  in  the  name  of  any  denomination 
of  Christians.  I  had  been  laboring  in  foreign 
fields  through  all  those  years  as  an  evangelist 
in  the  organized  work  of  missionaries  of  all  the 
great  leading  missionary  societies  of  Christen- 
dom, and  was  glad  to  be  honored  with  the  op- 
portunity of  helping  them  to  get  the  trains  on 
the  track  they  had  laid,  and  to  gather  in  the 


116  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Pentecostal  harvests  of  souls,  resulting  from  so 
many  long  years  of  unrequited  toil.  But  wlien 
I  struck  tlie  English  and  Eurasian  stratum  of 
society  in  Bombay,  I  found  myself  outside  of 
Cliurcli  organization.  I  at  once  formed  our 
converts  into  "  Fellow^sMp  Bands,"  self-support- 
ing and  self-acting  bodies  of  agency  for  their 
own  edification  and  for  the  salvation  of  their 
heathen  neighbors. 

I  knev^  not  at  the  beginning  what  organic 
shape  or  name  God  would  give  to  those  New 
Testament  Churches  in  the  houses  of  our  lead- 
ing members. 

As  I  am  often  asked  now  by  ministers,  as 
well  as  laymen,  whether  or  not  my  work  in 
India  is  connected  with  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  and  as  some  critics  assume  that  I 
have  departed  from  the  principles  of  self-sup- 
port  with  which  I  set  out,  I  will  insert  the 
chapter  from  my  book  entitled  "Four  Years 
Campaign  in  India,"  containing  an  account  of 
our  first  organization  in  India,  and  a  full  state- 
ment of  our  principles,  from  which  we  have  not 
swerved. 


Methodism  in  Bombay.  117 


X. 

ORGANIZATION  OF  METHODISM  IN  BOMBAY. 

On  Thursday,  the  8th  of  February,  1872, 
Brother  George  Miles  drew  up  the  following 
letter : 

*'  To  the  Rev.  William  Taylor.  : 

"Dear  Brother — We  the  undersigned,  who  have 
by  God's  mercy  been  awakened  through  your  preach- 
ing to  a  sense  of  our  sins,  and  who  have  found  the  Lord 
Jesus  to  be  our  Deliverer,  are  desirous  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  this  city. 

"We  are  satisfied,  from  all  that  we  have  yet  learned, 
of  the  scriptural  authority  for  the  methods  practiced 
by  the  Church  to  which  you  belong  ;  and  we  therefore 
unitedly  invite  you  to  take  the  necessary  steps  for  the 
accomplishment  of  our  wishes,  and  to  act  yourself  as 
our  pastor  and  evangelist  until  such  time  as  you  can 
make  arrangements  with  the  Home  Board  for  sending 
out  the  necessary  agency  to  this  city." 

Brother  James  Morris  the  same  day  showed 
it  to  a  number  of  converts,  and  thirty  of  them 
signed  it;  so  in  the  evening,  when  he  came 
home  and  showed  me  the  list  of  signatures,  I 
said,  "Now  before  you  go  any  further  with 
this  business,  I  must  read  our  ^  General  Rules' 


118  SELF-SuPPORTINa    MISSIONS. 

in  the  bands,  tliat  they  all  may  know  what  we 
shall  expect  of  them,  and  act  intelligently. 
So  by  Monday  morning,  the  12th  of  February, 
I  had  read  the  Kules  in  the  seven  bands 
we  had  up  to  that  time  organized.  Brother 
Morris,  meantime,  had  increased  his  list  of 
signers  to  eighty -three ;  and  on  Wednesday 
the  14th  I  foimally  accepted  their  call  by  the 
following  letter,  which  was  published  in  the 
Bombay  Guardian: 

[Reply.] 
"  Dear  Brethren  and  Sisters  in  the  Lord, — 

"In  response  to  your  letter  allow  me  to  state  a  few 
facts  ; 

"  Though  an  ordained  minister,  and  for  many  years  a 
pastor,  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  America, 
I  have,  with  the  concurrence  of  my  Church,  for  many 
years  past  wrought  as  a  missionary  evangelist  in  foreign 
countries,  among  all  denominations  of  Christians.  I 
came  to  Bombay  Presidency  by  invitation  of  the  Amer- 
ican missionaries  of  *the  Maratti  Mission.'  I  enjoyed 
the  pleasure  of  working  with  them  at  Ahmednugger 
and  in  this  city,  and  in  return  have  had  their  hearty 
sympathy  and  co-operation — the  same  also,  in  a  good 
degree,  of  other  ministers — in  all  my  work  for  God  in 
this  city.  Our  gracious  God  will  reward  them.  I  had 
also  the  pleasure  of  giving  a  little  helo  to  the  Mission 
of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland. 

"I  expected  by  invitation  of  ministers  here,  as  in 


Methodism  in  Bombay.  119 

other  places,  to  assist  many  Churches  in  Bombay  in 
seeking  the  soul-saving  power  of  God,  and  in  the  de- 
velopment of  a  more  effective  working  agency  in  their 
respective  organizations. 

"  As  you  all  know,  we  have  been  providentially 
brought  *  by  a  way  that  we  knew  not,'  to  a  somewhat 
different  result. 

"  A  number  of  you  will  bear  me  witness,  that  when 
at  different  times  you  spoke  to  me  on  the  necessity  of 
organizing  a  Methodist  Church  in  Bombay,  to  conserve 
and  extend  the  fruits  of  this  work  of  God,  I  advised 
you  not  to  think  about  that,  but  to  go  on  in  the  soul- 
saving  work  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  was  using  you, 
and  that  God  would  in  due  time  manifest  clearly  the 
course  you  ought  to  pursue.  I  could  not  anticipate 
what  it  might  be,  but  was  fully  resigned  to  follow 
wherever  he  might  lead. 

"Under  later  unmistakable  indications,  I  now  see 
with  you  the  guiding  hand  of  God  by  which  you  have 
been  led  to  your  present  conclusion,  and  I  am  bound 
by  my  loyalty  to  Christ  to  concur  with  you  in  this 
movement.  After  I  received  your  letter,  I  read  to  the 
*  fellowship  bands '  the  '  General  Rules  of  our  Societies,' 
that  all  might  know  from  the  start  the  self-denying, 
cross-bearing  life  necessary  to  constitute  a  true  Meth- 
odist— that  is,  to  find  out  God's  Gospel  Methods,  and 
pursue  them  with  a  martyr  spirit  of  fidelity  to  him 
and  to  mankind.  So  our  organization  has  now  become 
matter  of  history.  Let  it  be  distinctly  understood  that 
we  do  not  wish  to  hinder,  but  to  help,  the  spiritual 
progress  of  all  pre-existing  Churches  in  this  great 
country. 


120  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

"We  attach  no  importance  to  the  nominal  relation 
of  an  unconverted  man  or  woman  to  any  Church. 
\Yhen,  therefore,  God  by  our  agency  leads  such  to  re- 
ceive Christ  and  salvation  in  him,  they  naturally  look 
to  us  for  spiritual  guidance,  and  we  are  bound  to  ex- 
tend to  them  hands  and  hearts  of  fraternal  sympathy, 
and  receive  them  into  our  church-fellowship  ;  unless 
they  conscientiously  believe  they  can  get  and  do  more 
good  in  some  other  branch  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
But  persons  who  have  a  vital  spiritual  union  with  any 
Church,  and  a  field  of  usefulness  therein,  we  sincerely 
advise  to  remain  in  their  own  Church.  We  are  not  at 
liberty  to  refuse  any  persons  who  have  a  '  desire  to  flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  be  saved  from  their  sins ; ' 
but  we  do  not  wish  any  truly  saved  man  to  leave  his 
Church  to  come  to  us.  On  the  other  hand,  persons 
who  are  influenced  by  worldly  motives  would  make  a 
very  great  mistake  in  trying  to  ally  themselves  with 
us.  All  who  join  the  Methodists  should  make  up  their 
minds  to  *  endure  hardness  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus 
Christ,'  and  prove  the  truth  of  the  Saviour's  saying, 
*  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  revile  you,  and  shall 
persecute  you,  and  shall  say  all  manner  of  evil  against 
you  falsely  for  my  sake.'  Dr.  Chalmers  said,  *  Method- 
ism is  Christianity  in  earnest.'  That  is  a  thing  directly 
antagonistic  to  the  carnal  spirit  and  life  of  the  world; 
and  hence  the  emphatic  statement  of  St.  Paul,  'All 
that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecu- 
tion.' 

"  It  does  not  follow  that  such  are  a  long-faced,  gloomy 
people,  but  rather,  a  people  who  *  rejoice  evermore, 
pray  without  ceasing,  and  in  everything  give  thanks 


Methodism  in  Bombay.  121 

unto  God.'  They  daily  cheer  their  heavenward  journey 
with  songs  and  shouts  of  victory  over  sin  and  Satan, 
speaking  to  each  other  in  *  psalms  and  hymns  and  spirit- 
ual songs,  singing  and  making  melody  in  their  hearts 
to  the  Lord.'  All  of  us  further  agree  that  ours  is  to  be 
an  Evangelistic,  self-supporting  Church.  We  know 
no  distinction  of  language,  caste,  or  color,  as  it  regards 
our  relation  to  God  and  to  each  other  as  his  children. 

**  Every  member  is  expected  to  be  a  witness  for 
Christ,  and  help  to  herald  the  fact  that  every  human 
being  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  or  that  may  be  born,  to 
the  end  of  time,  has,  and  shall  have,  chartered  rights 
under  God's  '  eternal  purpose '  to  a  full  restoration  of 
his  filial  relation  to  God,  and  a  present  salvation  from 

*  all  sin,'  on  the  one  simple  condition  of  receiving  Christ. 

*  As  many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to 
become  the  sons  of  God.' 

"  Every  such  one  becomes  our  real  brother  or  sister, 
and  fellow-heir  to  an  eternal  inheritance  in  Heaven. 
All  such,  who  remain  *  faithful  unto  death,'  are  enabled 
in  that  last  mortal  struggle  to  exclaim,  *  O  death,  where 
is  thy  sting?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?  .  .  . 
Thanks  be  to  God  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  To  give  one  illustrative  case  : 
Dr.  Sewall,  an  old  Methodist  of  Washington  City,  when 
dying,  shouted  aloud  the  praises  of  God.  His  friends 
said,  'Dr.  Sewall,  don't  exert  yourself.  Whisper, 
doctor  ;  whisper.'  *Let  angels  whisper,'  said  he  ;  'let 
angels  whisper  ;  but  a  soul  "  cleansed  from  all  sin,"  by 
"  the  blood  of  Christ," — a  soul  redeemed  from  death  and 
hell,  just  on  the  threshold  of  eternal  glory — Oh,  if  I 
had  a  voice  that  would  reach  from  pole  to  pole,  I  would 


122  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

proclaim  it  to  all  the  world  ?  Victory  !  victory  through 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb  ! ' 

"  I  will  make  application  at  once  for  missionary  pas- 
tors to  be  sent  to  assist  you  in  your  great  work.  I  will 
meantime  (I>.V.)  serve  you  to  the  best  of  my  ability  till 
they  shall  arrive  ;  but  must  be  allowed,  as  heretofore, 
to  decline  to  receive  any  fee  or  reward  for  my  services. 
"  Your  brother  in  Jesus, 

"WILLIAM  TAYLOR. 

"Bombay,  Uth  February,  1872." 

It  was  from  the  start  distinctly  stated  and 
unanimously  concurred  in  by  all  our  members, 
that  ours  should  be  purely  a  Missionary  Church, 
for  the  conversion  of  the  native  nations  of  India 
as  fast  and  as  far  as  the  Lord  should  lead  us ; 
that  while  it  should  be  true  to  the  discipline 
and  administrative  authority  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  it  should  neither  ask  kor 

ACCEPT  ANY  FUNDS  FROM  THE  MISSIONARY  SO- 
CIETY beyond  the  passage  of  missionaries  to 
India;  nor  hence  come  under  the  control  of 
any  missionaiy  society,  but  be  led  directly  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  and  supported  by  him 
from  Indian  resources.  For  the  sake  of  estab- 
lishing, as  nearly  as  possible,  an  indigenous 
Indian  Church,  regardless  of  color  or  nation- 
ality, .our  ministers  will  forego  their  rights  as 
regards  salary,  and  also  the  ministerial  social 


Methodism  in  Bombay.  123 

standing  —  equal  to  that  of  an  officer  in  the 
army — which  in  India  has  been  considered  es- 
sential to  success  in  their  high  calling,  and  live 
on  subsistence  allowance  as  near  the  level  of 
the  natives  as  health  and  efficiency  will  allow. 
We  shall  thus  preclude  a  "padri-log"  caste 
— white  preacher  caste,  which  causes  such  an 
impassable  gulf  between  foreign  and  native 
ministers.  Whether  Jew  or  Greek,  Parsee  or 
Afghan,  Hindu  or  American,  Scythian  or  En- 
glish— all  our  saved  ones  are  indeed  one  body 
in  Christ,  and  ministers  are  their  servants  for 
Christ's  sake.  Of  course  we  have  no  control 
over  the  social  distinctions  of  society.  God's 
gospel  arrangement  for  fellowship,  without 
ignoring  social  distinctions,  provides  within  his 
Church  a  sphere  and  time  for  all  needful  social 
and  spiritual  fraternity  as  one  great  brother- 
hood, in  which  even  its  divine  Founder  stands 
as^a  Brother.  He  says,  "  Whosoever  doeth  the 
will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  the  same 
is  my  brother,  my  sister,  my  mother ; "  and  it 
is  written,  "  He  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them 
brethren."  It  is  our  earnest  wish  to  help  all 
other  Christian  organizations  in  their  soul-sav- 
ing work,  so  far  as  God  may  give  us  ability ; 
and  to  hinder  none. 


124  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

We  are  not  opposed  to  Missionary  Societies, 
nor  the  appropriation  of  missionary  funds  to 
any  and  all  missions  which  may  require  them. 
Our  ground  on  this  point  is  simply  this :  There 
are  resources  in  India — men  and  money  suffi- 
cient to  run  at  least  one  great  mission.  If  they 
can  be  rescued  from  worldly  waste,  and  util- 
ized for  the  soul-saving  work  of  God,  why  not 
do  it  ?  All  admit  that  self-support  is,  or  should 
be,  the  earnest  aim  of  every  mission.  If  a  work 
in  India — the  same  as  in  England  or  in  Amer- 
ica— can  start  on  this  healthy,  sound  principle, 
is  it  not  better  than  a  long,  sickly,  dependent 
pupilage,  which  in  too  many  instances  amounts 
to  pauperism  ?  I  am  not  speaking  of  mission- 
aries, but  of  mission  Churches.  We  simply 
wish  to  stand  on  the  same  platform,  exactly, 
as  our  Churches  in  America — which  began 
poor,  and  worked  their  way  up  by  their  own 
industry  and  liberality,  without  funds  from  the 
Missionary  Society.  When  such  need  help  in 
some  great  enterprise,  of  building  a  church 
edifice  or  literary  institution,  it  is  considered 
no  infringement  of  their  self-support  and  self- 
respect  to  get  help  from  Churches  or  friends 
beyond  their  bounds ;  nor  to  accept  help  from 
the  Missionary  Society  for  the   beginning  of 


Methodism  in  Bombay.  125 

work  in  tlieir  bounds  too  poor  to  start  of  itself. 
So  our  self-supporting  principle  in  India  applies 
particularly  to  the  support  of  ministers  of  tlie 
Gospel,  and  as  far  as  possible  to  all  our  cliurcli 
buildings  and  institutions,  but  would  not  pre- 
clude foreign  help  for  ttie  latter  from  liberal 
Christian  friends  who  might  feel  it  a  privilege 
to  help  us;  nor  would  it  preclude  help  from 
the  Missionary  Society  for  extending  mission 
work,  just  as  it  has  done  in  all  our  self-support- 
ing Conferences  at  home,  if  need  be.  But  it 
is  a  sound  principle  in  political  economy  to 
develop  the  resources  in  hand,  before  you  begin 
to  subsidize  them.  Appropriations  in  advance 
will  hinder,  if  not  preclude,  a  healthy  develop- 
ment. AVe  hope  for  such  an  adequate  develop- 
ment of  Indian  resources  as  to  render  it  entirely 
unnecessary  ever  to  draw  on  any  Missionary 
Society  for  any  purpose.  The  opening  pioneer 
mission  work  in  any  country  may  require,  and 
in  most  cases  has  required,  and  does  require, 
some  independent  resources  which  the  pioneer 
missionary  brings  to  his  new  work  before  he 
can  develop  it,  or  make  it  self-supporting. 
Thus  St.  Paul  depended  on  his  skill  as  a  tent- 
maker  ;  I  depend  on  mine  as  a  book-maker ;  and 
missionaries  ordinarily  have  to  depend  on  mis- 


126  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

sion  funds.  Ten  times  the  amount  of  all  tlie 
money  now  raised  for  mission  purposes  would 
not  be  adequate  to  send  one  missionary  for 
eacli  hundred  thousand  of  heathens  now  access- 
ible. God  has  within  our  day  opened  the 
gates  of  all  the  heathen  nations  of  the  earth  to 
his  gospel  messengers ;  and  now  he  wants  the 
men  to  go,  and  the  money  to  send  them,  and 
give  them  such  help  as  they  may  require  in 
solving,  till  they  can  reap,  and  make  their  fields 
self-supporting  and  reproductive. 

The  old  existing  missions  of  India  have 
accomplished,  especially  in  education  and  trans- 
lation of  the  Scriptures,  a  vast  preparatory 
work,  which  we  thankfully  accept  as  a  part  of 
the  available  resources  we  propose  to  utilize. 
All  honor  to  the  patient,  good  men  who  have 
spent  their  lives  in  this  preparative  dispensa- 
tion !  But  we  see  the  disadvantages  of  what 
is  known  as  the  "  compound  system."  It  is  not 
likely  that  any  missionary  ever  planned  such  a 
system  as  a  theory,  but  it  gradually  grew  upon 
them  as  a  fact ;  and  thus  the  theory  has  been 
adduced,  and  facts  which  should  have  been 
set  down  as  incidental  and  exceptional,  have 
attained  the  status  of  an  unavoidable  necessity ; 
so    that    with   many   good    missionaries   it  is 


Methodism  in  Bombay.  127 

accepted,  as  a  foregone  conclusion,  tliat  it  is 
impossible  for  persons  converted  from  Hindu- 
ism, or  Mohammedanism,  or  Parseeism,  to  re- 
main at  home  with  their  own  people;  they 
must  be  at  once  protected  and  provided  for. 
Hence  the  "  compound,"  with  houses  for  native 
converts  under  the  eye  and  protection  of  the 
missionary.  All  missionaries  deplore  this  ne- 
cessity— many  are  trying  to  abate  it ;  and  among 
low-castes  many  converts  now  are  taught  with 
success  to  remain  in  "whatsoever  calling"  or 
relation  they  may  be  when  called  by  the  Spirit 
of  God.  Still,  so  many  native  teachers  have 
been  nurtured  in  the  compound,  who  teach 
others  by  their  own  experience,  that  it  is  very 
difficult  to  measure  the  motives  of  the  candi- 
dates they  bring  to  the  missionary  for  baptism, 
especially  when  they  know  that  a  large  amount 
of  foreign  funds  are  annually  distributed  from 
the  missionary  treasurer's  office.  So  we  escape 
a  danger  that  many,  unacquainted  with  the 
native  Indian  character,  cannot  appreciate,  in 
being  able  to  say,  "  We  get  no  appropriations 
of  money  from  any  foreign  source.  We  have 
no  rupees  to  give  you,  and  no  compounds  in 
which  to  shelter  you.  If  you  receive  Christ 
among  us  we  will  baptize  you,  and  say  to  each 


128  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

one,  ^Go  home  to  tliy  friends,  and  tell  them 
how  great  things  the  Lord  hath  done  for  thee.' 
They  will  persecute  you,  of  course ;  but  God 
has  given  you  a  guarantee  that  you  shall  never 
be  tempted  or  tried  ^  above  that  ye  are  able ; 
but  he  will,  with  the  temptation,  also  make  a 
way  of  escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it.' 
If  they  kill  you,  accept  the  first  good  chance 
you  get  to  have  your  head  cut  off,  and  seize  a 
martyr's  crown.  Don't  provoke  opposition,  nor 
court  danger ;  but  don't  fear  or  shun  either,  in 
the  plain  way  of  your  duty  to  God." 

On  this  principle  we  may  not  for  awhile 
get  so  many  native  converts ;  but  they  will 
make  up  in  quality  any  lack  of  numbers.  To 
insure  sound  instruction  on  this  subject,  we 
seek  no  native  agency  from  other  missions; 
and,  as  far  as  practicable,  discourage  all  native 
Christians  from  joining  our  mission. 

We  state  our  principles  to  the  Hindus,  Mo- 
hammedans, and  Parsees  ;  and  they  approve  of 
them.  They  are  all  familiar  vrith  the  news- 
paper reports  of  lawsuits,  and  many  of  them 
have  footed  the  bills  involved  by  them  to 
recover  their  sons  from  the  compound  of  the 
missionary ;  and  from  their  stand-point  they  can 
but  regard  the  man  of  God  as  a  kidnapper. 


Methodism  m  Bombay.  129 

We  say  to  them,  on  all  suitable  occasions, 
"  We  claim  for  your  wives,  children,  or  servants, 
as  for  yourselves,  liberty  of  conscience.  The 
laws  of  the  British  Constitution  and  the  laws 
of  Grod  support  this  claim ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  recognize  your  rights  of  property  to 
the  persons  of  your  waves,  children,  and  serv- 
ants, and  we  pledge  our  word  and  honor  that 
we  will  not  infringe  your  rights.  If  we  can 
get  your  wives,  children,  or  servants,  to  receive 
Christ  and  salvation,  we  will  baptize  them  and 
send  them  home  to  you.  You  must  not  sus- 
pect that  we  will  hide  them :  we  will  not ;  we 
will  send  them  back  to  their  friends  and  kin- 
dred; and  we  will  require  of  you  that  you 
treat  them  properly,  and  not  interfere  wdth 
their  conscience.  Give  them  a  fair  trial,  and 
you  will  see  that  they  will  fulfill  all  their  duties 
better  than  they  ever  did  before.  If  you  per- 
secute them  they  will  bear  it  patiently;  but  we 
will  put  you  upon  your  honor  to  do  justly,  and 
trust  that  you  will  show  yourselves  worthy  of 
our  confidence — for  we  love  you,  and  will  place 
confidence  in  you,  if  you  will  not  destroy  in 
yourselves  a  ground  of  confidence." 

I  have  often  made  such  statements  to  hun- 
dreds  of    heathens,   and   never  without  pro- 

9 


130  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

f oundly  enlisting  their  attention ;  and  by  their 
eyes,  actions,  and  words,  they  have  on  every 
such  occasion  expressed  their  approval.  Our 
platform  has  not  a  single  new  plank  in  it,  and 
we  don't  want  any  new  thing.  We  simply 
claim  the  privilege  of  carrying  on  a  mission 
for  the  salvation  of  as  many  of  these  millions 
as  God  shall  give  us,  on  the  very  principles  so 
fully  exemplified  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
and  repeated  in  the  great  revival  of  apostolic 
methods  by  Whitefield,  the  Wesleys,  and  their 
coadjutors — first  in  England,  and  then  in 
America. 

In  regard  to  our  mission  in  the  North,  com- 
menced in  1857,  I  have  always  taken  the 
ground  that,  as  it  was  planted  in  the  new 
provinces  of  Oudh  and  Rohilcund,  it  was  quite 
proper  for  us  as  a  Church  to  found  educational 
institutions,  orphanages,  printing  establishment, 
etc.,  and  do  from  the  foundations  what  older 
missions  have  done  for  nearly  all  other  parts  of 
India.  I  have  always,  from  my  arrival  in  India, 
done  what  I  could  to  advance  their  work.  I 
knew  that  in  planting  a  mission  on  these  plain, 
old-fashioned  principles,  I  should  be  misunder- 
stood and  misrepresented  by  many ;  and  have 
not  been  disappointed,  nor  for  a  moment  dis- 


Methodism  in  Bombay.  131 

coil  raged.  I  am  sure  we  are  on  the  riglit  plat- 
form for  India — God  Mmself,  without  our  seek- 
ing or  planning,  put  us  on  it — and  we  intend, 
by  the  power  of  his  Spirit,  to  stay  on  it. 

That  we  might  conduct  our  mission  without 
any  possible  complications  with  our  India  Mis- 
sion Conference,  or  our  Missionary  Society,  I 
thought  if  the  General  Conference  would  grant 
a  provisional  charter  for  a  Bombay  Conference, 
to  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  Bishops  hav- 
ing charge  of  our  work,  it  would  be  well.  The 
following  are  copies  of  my  letters  to  Bishop 
Janes,  and  to  the  General  Conference,  on  the 

subject : 

"Bombay,  India,  March  4,  1872. 

"Dear  Brother. — The  inclosed  printed  letters  will 
indicate  to  you  the  leading  of  God  which  has  resulted 
in  the  organization  of  a  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Bombay.  We  have  now  nine  classes,  in  which  over 
130  converts  meet  weekly  ;  and  newly-saved  souls  are 
being  *  added  daily.' 

"  We  hereby  ask  you,  and  our  Missionary  Committee 
to  send  us  men  as  we  may  require  them,  but  not  money. 
If  you  wish  to  pay  their  passage  to  Bombay,  and  can, 
by  the  liberality  of  a  few  friends  or  otherwise,  do  it, 
without  placing  this  mission  on  the  list  of  deperident 
missions,  all  right.  One  appropriation  of  funds  from 
any  missionary  society  would  set  upon  us  the  brand- 
mark  of  existing  Indian  missions,  and  tend  to  bring  us 
down  to  their  dead  level. 


132  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

"  We  do  not  underrate  the  valuable  preparatory  work 
accomplished  on  these  vast  plains  of  heathenism  by- 
faithful  missionaries,  living  and  dead — especially  in  the 
translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  most  of  the  languages 
of  these  nations ;  but  we  believe  the  time  has  fully 
come  when  God  wishes  to  demonstrate  the  soundness 
and  practical  utility  of  his  old  gospel  methods  of  ag- 
gression— one  principle  of  which  is  self-sustentation. 
Our  Mission  Conference  in  the  North— planted,  as  it  is, 
in  a  new  heathen  field — cannot  live  on  the  principle  on 
which  God  intends  to  run  this  work  in  the  South, 
where  we  especially  desire  that  the  Holy  Spirit  be 
allowed  to  test  his  simple  Pauline  methods. 

"  We  believe  that  he  will  thus  lead  us  through  this 
great  Indian  Empire. 

"After  we  learn  to  walk  without  crutches,  then  if, 
in  any  emergency,  our  American  brothers  wish  to  help 
us,  all  right  ;  and  our  Indian  Methodists,  according  to 
their  ability,  will  also  make  a  collection  for  the  *  poor 
saints  in  Judsea,'  or  in  New  York.  We  now  ask  the 
Committee,  through  you,  to  send  two  young  men — 
single  men — if  engaged,  well ;  if  not,  better.  We  want 
men  of  good  practical  common  sense  ;  if  liberally  edu- 
cated, well ;  but  sound  in  body,  wholly  devoted  to  God, 
ready  to  do  or  die  for  Jesus  in  India,  and  who  will  trust 
God  and  his  Indian  Methodists  for  food  and  raiment. 
We  can't  promise  high  salaries  ;  but  no  faithful  minis- 
ter here  need  incur  debt  for  food  or  raiment,  nor  suffer 
want  of  either. 

"  It  is  considered  unsafe,  on  the  score  of  health,  for 
new  recruits  to  land  here  in  the  summer.  So  the  said 
missionaries  for  Bombay  need  not  arrive  till  November 


Methodism  in  Bombay.  133 

of  this  year.     I  will  (d.v.)  be  here  to  receive  them,  and 
initiate  them  into  their  work. 

"  Your  Brother  in  Jesus, 

"WILLIAM  TAYLOR. 
«  Rev.  Bishop  Janes,  D.D." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  my  petition  to  the 
General  Conference,  which,  held  its  session 
in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  commencing  May  1, 

1872; 

"To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

"  Dear  Fathers  and  Brethren — The  God  of  our 
fathers  has  planted  Methodism  in  Bombay.  You  may 
see  by  inclosed  printed  letters  that  our  cause  here  is  but 
in  its  infancy. 

"I  have  been  but  three  and  a  half  months  in  this 
city,  and  the  first  month  was  devoted  to  the  Maratti 
natives  through  interpreters  ;  but  you  may  see  from  in- 
closed Circuit  Plan  an  indication  of  our  growth.  This 
is  a  city  containing  a  population  of  nearly  a  million  of 
souls  ;  Moradabad,  the  seat  of  our  recent  session  of  the 
India  Mission  Conference,  is  about  1,400  miles  distant  ; 
hence  this  Mission  cannot  in  reason  be  appended  to 
that  Conference.  Moreover,  we  believe  that  God  in- 
tends to  run  this  soul-saving  concern  on  his  old  Pauline 
track,  which  must  pay  its  own  running  expenses,  and 
help  *the  poor  saints  in  Judaea'  as  well  ;  and  therefore 
we  cannot  be  tacked  on  to  a  remote  dependency. 

"  We  have  asked  our  Missionary  Committee,  through 
Bishop  Janes,  to  send  us  two  young  men,  to  arrive  in 


134  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

November  of  this  year  ;  but  it  is  already  manifest  to  us 
that  God  will  raise  up  ministers  here  from  the  recruits 
he  is  now  levying.  One  young  man  had  over  thirty 
seals  to  his  ministry  before  he  was  two  months  old. 
We  have  nine  classes,  in  which  more  than  130  new 
converts  meet  weekly;  and  others  are  being  *  added 
daily.'  Nearly  all  these  speak  the  different  native 
languages  spoken  in  this  city;  and  God  will  lead  us 
down  upon  the  native  masses  as  soon  as  we  are  suffi- 
ciently developed  and  equipped  for  such  an  advance. 
We  shall  want  the  facilities  for  initiating  and  organiz- 
ing into  a  regular  Methodist  ministry  the  men  whoni 
God  may  call  in  Bombay  for  this  work. 

"We  therefore  respectfully  ask  the  General  Confer- 
ence at  its  present  session  to  grant  us  a  charter  for  the 
organization  of  a  Bombay  Conference — not  a  Mission 
Conference.  If  we  stand  alone  on  our  own  legs,  by 
the  power  of  God,  and  draw  no  mission  funds,  why 
call  it  a  Mission  Conference  ?  We  have  a  number  of 
spacious  places  of  worship  in  our  circuit,  named  in  the 
accompanying  Circuit  Plan;  but  we  are  also  raising 
funds  for  the  erection  of  a  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
For  further  information  I  refer  you  to  Rev.  R.  S.  Maclay, 
D.D.,  and  Rev.  Henry  Mansell.  As  it  regards  myself, 
I  am  subject  to  the  Master's  orders,  to  stand  at  this 
post  till  he  shall  release  me  and  order  me  to  some 
other. 

"  Your  Brother  in  Christ,  on  behalf  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Bombay, 

"WILLIAM  TAYLOR. 

•'Bombay,  March  4,  1872." 


Methodism  in  Bombay.  135 

You  naturally  inquire,  What  was  the  result 
of  the  petition?  Well,  the  Committee  on 
Foreign  Missions  were  about  to  consign  it  to 
the  waste-basket  without  even  reading  it, 
when  Brother  M.,  who  had  recently  passed 
through  Bombay,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Committee,  called  for  the  reading  of  the  peti- 
tion. It  was  read  and  laid  on  the  table — not 
to  be  taken  up  again.  The  idea  of  a  man  lay- 
ing the  foundations  of  a  Conference  in  a  heathen 
country  in  the  short  space  of  three  months ! 


PLAN  OF  BOMBAY  CIRCUIT— 

MARCH. 


Meeting-places. 


FEAMJEE   COWASJEE 
HALL. 

Preaching  each  Lord's  Day, 
at  11  A.M.  and  6  p.m 


MAZAGON. 
P.  &0.  Co'sHaU 


Tinckom's . 


COLABA. 

Preaching  each  Lord's  Day, 
at  9  A.M 


GRAHAM'S.  P.  3 


p.  11 


BYCULLA. 
Mrs.  Miles' 

Almeida's 

Grey'B 

Berkley  Place 

THE  FORT. 
George  Miles' 


F.  2 


F.  8 


F.  1 


11  A.M. 
No.  1. 
6  P.M. 

No.  1. 


S.  1.5 
F.  10 


F.9 


P.  1 


P.  1 


F.4. 


P.  4 


p.  14 


P.T 


F.  7 
p.  5 


p.  6 


F.  3 


F.  2 


F.  8 


F.  12 


10 


11  A.M. 
1. 

6  p.m. 

1. 


a.  15 

F.  1 


F.  1 


P.  3 


F.  G 


11 


F.  4 


P.  1 


p.  13 


p.  10 


F.  7 


The  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  to  be  administered  first  Sabbath  evening' 
of  each  month.  Quarterly  tickets  will  admit  memhers  to  ihe  Quarterly  meeting' 
of  the  Bands,  and  to  the  Sacrament ;  others  should  have  notes  of  admission  from 
the  pastor. 

"F."  For  Fellowship  Band,  or  "Class-meeting,"  which  is  for  the  saved  and 
the  seekers  only. 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

1872. 


16 

17 

18 

> 
9 

1 

23 

24 

25 

.1 
> 

CD 
>^ 

.2 

u 

1 

30 

31 

*i' 

11.A.M 
8. 

6  P.M. 

1. 

llAM. 

1. 
6  P.M. 

1. 

llA.M. 

1. 

Ministers. 

Wm.  Taylor 1 

George  Bowen  . .     2 

S.  15 
F.  10 

P.  1 

S.  1.5 
F.  13 

P.  2 

S.  15 
F.  10 

P.  4 

Charles  Harding.    3 

F.  9 

F.  1 

p.  4 

F.  9 

Prayer-Leadert. 

p.  7 

P.  1 

F.  4 

p.  11 

P.  2 

F.  4 

P.l 

F.l 

James  Shaw....     4 
C.W.Christian..    5 

r.8 

P.  5 

F.  3 

F.3. 

P.  3 

Major  Eailt 6 

James  Morris....    7 

F.2 

F.2 

P.  1 

F.  2 

Wm.  Ashdown..     8 
Walter  Abraham.    9 

F.8 

p.  10 

F.8 

p.  11 

F.8. 

p.  6 

George  Miles....  10 
Capt.  J.  Winckler  11 

F.  6 

p.  11 

F.  6 

p.  5. 

F.  6 

P.  13 

George  J.  Pointer  12 

F.  12 

F.  1 

F.  12 

Wm.Boyd 14 

F.  7 
p.  2 

F.7. 
p.  10 

F.  7 
p.  14 

Joseph  Head  ...  15 

P."     For  the  public  Preaching  of  the  Gospel. 
"  p."    For  public  Prayer-meetings. 
"  S."    For  Sunday  school. 
1st  Quarterly  Conference,  7  A.M.  30th  March. 
Ist  Quarterly  Meeting  of  the  Bands,  or  "Love-feasts,"  9  A.M.  Slst  March. 


138  SELF-SuppoRTma  Missions. 


XI. 

THREE  YEARS  OF  PERSONAL  PIONEERING. 

The  first  of  tlie  three  was  devoted  to  foun- 
dation work  in  Bombay  and  Poonah,  resulting 
in  the  organization  of  a  live,  seK-supporting 
missionary  Church  in  each  of  those  cities. 

My  second  year  was  spent  in  Calcutta,  with 
a  similar  result.  Near  the  close  of  that  year  one 
of  our  Bishops,  on  an  episcopal  tour  round  the 
world,  stopped  off  to  preside  at  a  session  of  the 
"India  Mission  Conference,"  which  had  been 
developed  from  the  missions  commenced  by 
Eev.  William  Butler  in  1857. 

Hearing  that  the  Bishop  was  coining,  accom- 
panied by  Eev.  J.  W.  Waugh,  a  returning  mis- 
sionary, who  had  been  at  home  on  furlough, 
and  by  Eev.  Brothers  Spencer  and  Haughtpn, 
who,  also,  were  making  the  tour  of  the  globe, 
I  made  arrangement  for  their  entertainment 
while  in  the  city,  and  was  anxiously  awaiting 
their  arrival.  The  Bishop,  meantime,  tele- 
graphed from  Ceylon  to  Eev.  J.  M.  Thoburn, 
Presiding  Elder  of  Lucknow  District,  of  the 
India  Mission  Conference,  to  meet  him  in  Cal- 


Personal  Pioneering.  139 

cutta.  So  Brother  Thoburn  came  in  advance 
of  the  Bishop's  arrival,  and  gave  us  valuable 
help  in  our  work. 

I  learned  afterward  that  the  good  Bishop 
had  an  apprehension,  from  the  many  rumors 
he  had  heard  about  my  mission,  that  I  was 
going  to  set  up  a  new  sect — a  thing  entirely 
out  of  the  question,  both  with  myself  and  with 
my  people,  from  the  first — and  thought  he 
might  need  Mr.  Thoburn's  assistance  to  bring  me 
and  my  work  into  harmonious  relationship  with 
the  Church.  Every  document  and  class-book 
we  had,  and  the  trustees  and  deeds  of  our 
property  in  Calcutta,  were  in  evidence  of  our 
perfect  loyalty  to  the  Church  of  our  choice, 
though  refusing,  first  and  last,  to  be  put 
under  the  control  of  any  Missionary  Society; 
because,  as  a  self-supporting  mission,  it  did 
not  belong  to  the  jurisdiction  of  a  charity 
institution. 

When  the  Bishop  and  his  party  arrived  I 
met  them  at  the  ship,  and  had  them  conveyed 
to  the  quarters  I  had  provided  for  them. 

As  soon  as  we  left  the  ship  the  Bishop, 
alone  in  a  carriage  with  me,  said,  "Now, 
Brother  Taylor,  we  want  to  bring  your  mission 
into  a  closer  connection  with  our  Church,  and 


140  Self-Supportino  Missions. 

we  want  you  to  become  officially  and  in  name, 
what  you  are  in  fact,  its  superintendent." 

I  replied,  ^'  I  received  a  very  kind  letter  from 
Bishop  Simpson,  proposing  the  same  thing; 
also  a  letter  from  Dr.  Eddy,  containing  a  simi- 
lar request  from  you.  I  wrote  on  immediately 
to  both  Bishop  Simpson  and  yourself,  stating 
that  while  I  was  not  at  all  ambitious  of  any 
honor  or  official  position  in  the  gift  of  the 
Church,  yet,  as  God  had  opened  and  organized 
this  mission  through  my  agency,  and  had  thus 
made  me  its  superintendent,  I  should  not  ob- 
ject to  your  official  confirmation  of  his  appoint- 
ment, provided,  there  should  be  no  interfer- 
ence with  the  peculiar  principles  on  which  our 
mission  was  founded." 

The  Bishop  said,  "I  had  left  New  York  be- 
fore your  letter  got  there,  and  never  received  it." 

I  then  explained  to  him  more  fully  that  we 
had  a  loyal  development  of  self-supporting 
Methodism  on  the  old  principles  on  which 
original  Methodism  was  founded,  and  that, 
though  we  might  receive  help  from  home  for 
the  passage  of  our  missionaries  and  to  assist 
in  building  up  our  institutions,  yet  so  long  as 
we  required  no  missionary  money  for  the  sup- 
port of  our  ministers  or  their  families,  we  could 


Personal  Pioneering.  141 

not  consent  to  come  under  tlie  control  of  our 
Missionary  Society;  not  from  any  prejudice, 
but  because,  in  tlie  order  of  God,  we  did  not 
legitimately  come  under  their  jurisdiction. 

The  Bishop  replied,  "Your  principles  are 
sound,  and  very  clearly  stated.  Where  the 
Missionary  Society  appropriates  the  funds  of 
the  Church,  of  course  they  are  responsible  for 
their  pi'oper  disbursement;  but  where  they 
give  no  money,  as  in  the  case  of  your  mission, 
what  have  they  to  do  with  its  internal  manage- 
ment?" 

So  the  Bishop,  as  the  representative  of  the 
Church,  fully  concurred  in  our  principles,  and 
consented  to  our  independence  of  the  Mission- 
ary Society.  The  whole  thing  was  settled  in 
a  few  minutes,  and  the  Bishop  grasped  my 
hand  and  said,  "  O,  Brother  Taylor,  we  will  take 
all  India." 

I  learned  since  that  the  Bishop  won  immortal 
honor  from  his  colleagues  at  home  for  his  grand 
achievement  of  bringing  me  into  line.  I  have 
no  doubt  that  he  had  great  trouble  in  his  mind 
about  it  before  his  arrival,  but  it  all  grew  out 
of  a  misapprehension  of  the  facts  in  the  case, 
based  on  false  rumors  afloat  at  home  in  regard 
to  me  and  my  India  work. 


142  Self-supporting  Missions. 

The  Bishop  and  I  then  talked  the  matter 
over,  and  agreed  that  my  work  should  be  desig- 
nated the  "  Bombay  and  Bengal  Mission ; " 
and  that,  until  we  could  organize  a  Conference 
of  our  own,  I  and  my  ministers  should  join  the 
India  Mission  Conference ;  but  that  the  said 
Conference  should  sustain  no  official  relation  to 
the  Bombay  and  Bengal  Mission,  any  more 
than  the  Baltimore  Conference  sustains  to  our 
Mission  in  Japan,  because  its  superintendent, 
Kev.  E.  S.  Maclay,  happens  to  remain  a  mem- 
ber of  that  Conference. 

It  was  further  agreed  that  all  India,  outside 
of  the  defined  boundaries  of  the  India  Mission 
Conference,  should  be  included  in  the  bounds 
of  the  Bombay  and  Bengal  Mission.  Indeed, 
our  missionary  authorities,  in  response  to  Dr. 
Duif's  invitation  to  them  to  send  missionaries 
to  India,  had,  by  covenant  agreement,  accepted 
Oudh,  Kohilcund,  and  Gurhwal  as  the  exclusive 
portion  of  India  to  be  occupied  by  American 
Methodism. 

At  the  ensuing  Conference  session — January, 
1874 — in  Lucknow,  these  arrangements  were 
organically  consummated ;  and,  contrary  to  my 
expectations,  but  greatly  to  my  satisfaction, 
Rev.  J.  M.  Thoburn,  D.B.,  resigned  his  work 


PeESOKAL   PlOI^EERINa.  143 

in  the  India  Mission  Conference,  and  joined 
my  mission.  He  had  given  up  his  stipend 
from  the  Missionary  Society  a  year  before,  and 
had  tested  and  fully  adopted  the  peculiar  prin- 
ciples of  our  mission. 

Our  Church  membership  at  that  time  num- 
bered about  ^ve  hundred,  including  probation- 
ers. And  our  appointments,  as  announced  by 
the  Bishop  at  the  close  of  that  Conference  ses- 
sion, stood  as  follows : 

BOMBAY  AND  BENGAL  MISSION. 

William  Taylor,  Superintendent. 

Bombay:  George  Bowen,  W.  E.  Bobbins, 
James  Shaw. 

The  Deccan  :  (Poona,  Lanowli,  Dexal,  etc.,) 
D.  O.  Fox. 

Central  India:  Albert  Norton,  George  R. 
Gilder. 

Bengal:  (Calcutta,)  J.  M.  Thoburn,  C.  W. 
Christian. 

As  soon  as  I  got  Dr.  Thoburn  settled  in  Cal- 
cutta, I  went  to  the  City  of  Madras,  and  in 
nine  months  I  founded  a  Church  of  large  pro- 
portions in  that  city,  and  small  societies  in 
many  adjacent  towns. 


144  SELF-SuPPORTmG    MlSSIOT^S. 

From  Madras  I  went  to  Bangalore,  a  large 
native  city  and  military  station,  and  spent  six 
■weeks  and  three  days  in  daily  services,  morn- 
ing and  evening,  six  days  per  week.  Of  one 
hundred  and  forty  persons  who  professed  to 
experience  salvation  at  our  meetings,  w^e 
organized  one  hundred  into  a  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  appointed  James  Shaw 
as  their  pastor.  I  left  them,  and  have  not  been 
back  since,  but  they  received  and  provided  for 
Brother  Shaw  and  family,  built  two  plain 
chapels,  (on  two  lots  which  I  procured  while 
there,)  and  took  a  second  minister  before  they 
were  a  year  old,  and  have  sustained  two  charges 
ever  since. 

We  have  had  for  some  years  past  four  mar- 
ried ministers  stationed  in  Bangalore,  one  of 
whom,  wdth  his  wife,  is  in  charge  of  a  high- 
school  our  people  have  established  in  that 
city. 

As  the  limits  of  this  book  must  preclude  a 
consecutive  detail  of  the  facts  and  incidents 
making  up  a  complete  history  of  the  movement, 
and  as  an  extensive  exhibit  of  the  history  of 
the  first  three  years  may  be  found  in  my  book, 
"Four  Years'  Campaign  in  India,"  we  must 
here  content  ourselves  with  an  outlook  from 


PeESOT^AL    PlONEERnTG.  145 

a  few  lieadlands  along  tlie  journey.  We  had 
a  view  from  the  Conference  in  Lucknow  when 
"  Bombay  and  Bengal  Mission  "  was  for  the 
first  time  officially  announced. 

The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  at  its  session  in  Baltimore 
City,  May,  1876,  granted  a  charter  for  the 
oi'ganization  of  the  "  Bombay  and  Bengal  Mis- 
sion "  into  an  Annual  Conference  to  be  called 
"The  South  India  Coi^ference,"  to  embrace 
all  India  outside  of  the  bounds  of  the  India 
Mission  Conference,  the  name  of  which  was  at 
the  same  time  changed  to  tliat  of  "  North  India 
Conference,"  which  embraced  the  Provinces  of 
Oudh,  Rohilcund,  and  Gurhwal,  containing  a 
population  of  about  fourteen  millions. 

The  South  India  Conference,  with  no  defirued 
outside  limits,  to  include  "  all  India  beyond," 
containing  in  Inia  a  population  of  two  hundred 
and  thirty-eight  millions. 

The  North  Conference  had  occupied  two 
cities — Cawnpore  and  Allahabad — located  in 
the  bounds  of  my  mission.  The  first  was 
opened  in  connection  with  my  evangelizing 
tour  in  the  North  before  I  commenced  found- 
ing a  separate  mission.  The  second  was  opened 
through  the  agency  of  Dennis  Osborne,  who 


146  Self-Supporths-g  Missions. 

was  brouglit  into  our  Cliiircli  during  my  work 
in  Lucknow,  in  1871,  and  became  a  minister  in 
that  Conference,  and  was  stationed  at  Allaha- 
bad. So  the  General  Conference  put  Allaha- 
bad into  the  South  India  Conference,  where, 
geographically,  it  belonged,  and  left  it  to  the 
decision  of  the  two  Conferences  at  their  annual 
session  next  ensuing  to  decide  the  boundary 
line  in  regard  to  Cawnpore.  The  action  of  the 
South  India  Conference  in  regard  to  it  is  indi- 
cated by  the  following  minute,  from  the  Jour- 
nal of  their  proceedings :  "  Bishop  Andrews 
brought  forward  the  General  Conference  reso- 
lution regarding  Cawnpore,  and  the  following 
was  passed : 

''Mesolved^  That  this  Conference  consents  to 
the  transfer  of  Cawnpore  to  the  South  India 
Conference ;  provided,  that  the  Memorial  School 
be  free  from  all  incumbrance." 

A  good  school  in  connection  with  Church 
work  had  been  established  in  Cawnpore.  The 
people  had  raised  a  large  proportion  of  the 
funds,  and  expected  a  corresponding  appropria- 
tion from  our  Missionary  Society,  which,  by 
some  misunderstanding,  was  not  forthcoming, 
so  a  debt  was  pending  that  the  new  Conference 
was  not  prepared  to  assume,  and,  the  incum- 


Peesois^al  Pioneering.  147 

brance  remaining,  Cawnpore  was  not  trans- 
feiTed. 

We  will  get  a  second  outlook  from  the  organ- 
ization and  first  session  of  tlie  Soutli  India 
Conference,  which  was,  very  appropriately,  held 
in  Bombay,  November  9,  1876. 

I  copy  the  following  item  from  my  Journal : 
"  I  arrived  in  Bombay  November  1 0, 1 8 7 1 .  Ee v. 
C.  Harding,  of  the  American  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  met  me  at  the  station,  and  drove  me 
to  his  house  in  Byculla.  Commenced  a  series 
of  Maratti  services  in  Brother  Harding's  chapel 
on  the  following  Sabbath,  the  1 2th.  Eev.  Vishnu 
Punt  is  the  pastor  of  his  native  church,  but 
Brother  Kam  Krishnu  Punt  came  from  Ahmed- 
nugger  to  interpret  for  me  in  Bombay.  Preached 
at  9  A.  M.  to  a  congregation  of  thirty  persons. 
At  4  P.  M.  we  had  about  a  hundred.  '  By 
whom  shall  Jacob  arise  ?  for  he  is  small,'  very 
small,  indeed,  in  this  great  pagan  city ! " 

As  I  have  before  intimated,  this  self-support- 
ing mission  was  born  during  that  series  of  serv- 
ices, by  the  conversion  of  English-speaking 
people  under  the  gospel  preaching  which  was 
interpreted  to  the  Maratti  Hindus. 

I  copy  also  the  following :  "  Saturday,  De- 
cember 30,  1871.     This  evening,  in  the  house 


148  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

of  Mrs.  Miles,  I  organized  tlie  first  Fellowship 
Band,  or  "  Class,"  ever  organized  in  tHs  city. 
There  has,  of  course,  always  been  the  spirit  of 
fellowship  in  the  hearts  of  God's  children  here, 
and  often  manifested  in  their  casual  meetings 
with  each  other;  but  this  is  undoubtedly  the 
first  organic  regular  arrangement  for  it.  I 
appointed  Rev.  George  Bowen,  leader.  At  this, 
our  first  meeting  for  fellowship,  twenty-eight 
persons  told  their  experience — most  of  them 
young  converts.  In  circumstantial  detail,  va- 
riety, simplicity  and  point,  I  never  before  heard 
better  testimony  for  Christ.  Some  of  these 
will  join  our  second  Band,  to  be  organized  next 
Monday  night  at  the  house  of  Brother  George 
Miles." 

As  we  have  seen,  the  regular  organization  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Bombay 
was  not  effected  till  the  middle  of  February 
1872.  So,  in  less  than  four  years  from  the 
fii'st  conversion,  the  organization,  in  the  same 
city,  of  the  first  self-sujDporting  Conference  in 
India,  became  a  fact  of  history.  I  A^dll  here 
copy  some  of  its  proceedings,  both  for  their 
intrinsic  and  historic  value. 


South  India  Conference. 


149 


XII. 

FIRST  SESSION  OF   THE  SOUTH  INDIA  CON- 
FERENCE. 

Conference  Membees,  1876. 


NAMES. 


William  Taylor 

George  Bowen 

J.  M.  Thoburn 

Wallace  J.  Grladwin 

Daniel  0.  Fox 

William  E.  Robbius 

DeDiiis  Osborne 

James  Shaw 

Cliristopher  W.  Christian. 

George  K.  Gilder 

Clark  P.  Hard 

Frank  A.  Goodwin 

John  B.  Robinson 

Piyari  M.  Mukerji 

William  T.  G.  Curties 

Milton  H.  Nichols 

John  Blackstock 

Franklin  G.  Davis 

William  E.  Newlon 

David  H.  Lee 

Thomas  H.  Oakes,  P 

Isaac  F.  Row 

Levan  R.  Janney,  P 

Benjamin  Peters,  P 


Home  Conference  or 
(Previous  Eesidence). 


Joined 
Conf.  or 
(arrived 
in  India). 


Attendance 

1876. 


California 1870... 

(New  York) (1847). 

Pittsburgh 1859... 

St.  Louis 1872... 

North  Ohio 1872... 

Indiana 1872... 

(India) 1874... 

(India) 1874... 

(India) 1874.., 

(India) 1874... 

Western  N.  York. . .  1874.. . 

Central  Illinois 1874... 

Central  Illinois 1874.. , 

(India) 1874... 

(India) 1874... 

South  Illinois 1875... 

North- West  Indiana.  1875... 

Rock  River 1875... 

Michigan 1875.. 

Erie 1875.. 

(India) 1875.. 

New  England 1876.. 

Central  Ohio 1876.. 

(India) 1876.. 


In  America. 
Present. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 


Officees  and  Committees,  1876-77. 
President,  Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews. 
Secretary,  C.  P.  Hard. 
Assistant  Secretary,  W.  J.  Gladwin. 
Recording  Secretary,  D.  Osborne. 
Statistical  Secretary ^  F.  G.  Davis. 


150  SELF-SuPPORTINa    MlSSIO]S^S. 

Book  Committee  :  Chairman^  J.  M.  Thoburn  ;  Sec^ 
retary^  W.  E.  Robbins  ;  J.  Morris,  W.  J.  Gladwin,  J. 
Shaw,  D.  Osborne. 

Board  of  Education  :  G.  Bowen,  J.  M.  Thoburn, 
C.  P.  Hard,  W.  E.  Bobbins,  and  W.  J.  Gladwin. 

Committees  of  Examination  :  First  Year,  D.  Os- 
borne, F.  G.  Davis.  Second  Year,  D.  O.  Fox,  J.  Black- 
stock.  Third  Year,  W.  E.  Bobbins,  I.  F.  Row. 
Fourth  Year,  W.  J.  Gladwin,  M.  H.  Nichols.  Admis- 
sion on  Trial,  The  presiding  elder  and  preacher  in 
charge.  To  preach  the  missionary  sermon,  George 
Bowen. 

First  Day,  Thursday,  November  9,  1876. 

The  South  India  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  met  for  its  First  Annual  Session,  Thurs- 
day, November  9,  1876,  at  Falkland  Road  Hall,  Bom- 
bay. Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews,  presiding,  read  the  40th 
chapter  of  Isaiah  and  selections  from  the  Epistle  to 
the  Philippians.  The  48th  ("Jesus,  the  name  high 
over  all")  and  45th  ("Let  Zion's  watchmen  all 
awake  ")  hymns,  from  "  Hymns  New  and  Old,"  were 
sung.  The  Bishop  led  in  prayer,  also  Brothers  Parker 
and  Bowen. 

Bishop  Andrews  read  the  following  paper  : 
"  In  accordance  with  the  action  of  the  General  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  held  in 
Baltimore,  U.  S.  A.,  May  1,  1876,  whereby  the  South 
India  Conference  was  constituted  of  all  those  parts  of 
India  not  included  in  the  North  India  Conference,  I 
hereby  recognize  the  following  brethren  as  members  of 
said  Conference,  namely : 


South  Ikdia  Conference.     151 

«  William  Taylor,  George  Bowen,  J.  M.  Thoburn,  W. 
E.  Robbing,  C.  P.  Hard,  D.  O.  Fox,  P.  M.  Mukerji,  D. 
Osborne,  M.  H.  Nichols,  J.  Blackstock,  G.  K.  Gilder, 
and  C.  W.  Christian. 

"  And  the  following  brethren  as  probationers  in  the 
said  Conference,  namely  ;  F.  G.  Davis,  F.  A.  Goodwin, 
J.  Shaw,  D.  H.  Lee,  J.  E.  Robinson,  W.  E.  Newlon, 
W.  T.  G.  Curties,  and  T.  H.  Oakes. 

"  I  also  announce  the  transfer  of  W.  J.  Gladwin,  (an 
elder,)  from  the  North  India  Conference  ;  I.  F.  Row, 
(an  elder,)  from  the  New  England  Conference,  and  of 
Levan  R.  Janney,  (a  probationer,)  from  the  Central 
Ohio  Conference,  as  by  the  accompanying  certificates. 

"  And  on  this  first  session  of  the  South  India  Con- 
ference I  invoke  the  special  blessing  of  the  great  Head 
of  the  Church. 

"  May  love,  faith,  and  wisdom,  attend  its  delibera- 
tions ;  and  prepare  the  way  of  a  long  history  of  distin- 
guished usefulness  in  this  Indian  Empire. 

"E.  G.  Andrews." 

C.  P.  Hard  *  was  chosen  Secretary  ;  and  W.  J.  Glad- 
win, Assistant,  D.  Osborne,  Recording,  and  F.  G.  Davis, 
Statistical  Secretaries.  A  record  book  and  case  were 
presented  by  the  ladies  of  the  Church,  and  the  thanks 
of  the  Conference  were  returned. 

The  visiting  members  of  the  North  India  Confer- 
ence, E.  W.  Parker,  H.  Mansell,  E.  Cunningham,  and 
F.  M.  Wheeler,  were  invited  to  participate  in  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Conference. 


*  C.  p.  Hard,  from  excessive  work  as  Presiding  Elder  of  Madras  District,  broke 
and  returned  home  in  1878,  but  was  transferred  again  to  India  in  1882. 


152  SELF-Suppoirn]>jG-  Missions. 

Book  Concee:n^. 

The  Committee  appointed  to  present  a  plan  for  the 
establishment  of  a  Book  Committee  offered  the  follow- 
ing, which  was  adopted  : 

"  I.  A  Book  Committee  of  six  shall  be  appointed  at 
this  Conference  :  two  members  to  be  chosen  annually. 

"  II.  This  Committee  shall  open  at  Bombay  an 
agency  for  the  publications  of  our  Book  Concern  and 
other  standard  Methodist  literature. 

"  III.  All  traveling  preachers  of  our  Church  in  India 
are  expected  to  act  as  agents,  and  shall  be  allowed 
such  discount  as  the  Committee  may  decide  to  grant. 

"  TV.  The  accounts  of  the  Committee  shall  be  kept  in 
proper  form  and  audited  by  the  Conference  annually. 
Minutes  of  committee  meetings,  correspondence,  or- 
ders, bills,  receipts,  and  all  other  important  papers, 
shall  be  carefully  preserved  by  the  Committee. 

"V.  The  Committee  shall  not  incur  any  indebted* 
ness,  and  all  sales  be  upon  the  cash  system." 

In  accordance  with  the  above  plan  the  following 
were  appointed  a  Book  Committee  :  W.  E.  Robbins, 
J.  Morris,  (for  three  years,)  W.  J.  Gladwin,  J.  Shaw, 
(two  years,)  D.  Osborne,  and  J.  M.  Thoburn,  (one 
year.) 

The  Committee  on  Sunday-schools  read  their  report, 
and  it  was  adopted.  (See  Statistics.)  It  was  ordered 
that  the  "  Children's  Day "  be  observed  on  the  date 
specified  by  the  Sunday-School  Union  of  London. 

Personal. 
The  following  was  adopted  by  a  rising  vote  : 
"Resolved.  That   we    hereby   express   our   warmest 


South  India  Conference.     153 

thanks  to  our  beloved  brother,  William  Taylor,  for  his 
unswerving  fidelity  to  our  interests  since  his  return  to 
America,  and  especially  for  his  successful  efforts  to 
send  out  re-enforcements  to  our  work. 

"  2.  That  we  rejoice  to  hear  that  Brother  Taylor,  al- 
though unexpectedly  delayed,  still  confidently  ex- 
pects to  return  to  India,  and  that  we  beg  to  assure 
him  of  our  earnest  prayers  for  his  safe  and  speedy 
arrival  among  us. 

"  3.  That  we  respectfully  request  the  Bishop  presiding 
to  give  Brother  Taylor  such  an  appointment  as  may 
admit  of  his  pursuing  the  peculiar  evangelistic  work 
in  which  God  has  so  signally  blessed  him,  throughout 
the  entire  bounds  of  the  Conference,  without  being 
restricted  to  any  one  particular  district. 

*'  4.  That  we  commend  him  to  the  love  and  sympathy 
of  the  Church  in  America,  and  bear  grateful  testimony 
to  the  invaluable  work  which  has  been  accomplished 
through  his  unselfish  labors  in  India." 

Pending  the  adoption  of  the  above,  Bishop  Andrews 
took  occasion  to  speak  of  his  high  appreciation  of  the 
good  done  through  Brother  Taylor's  instrumentality. 
He  expressed  his  desire  in  harmony  with  the  Confer- 
ence for  Brother  Taylor's  return  to  India  to  open  new 
work  and  to  aid  the  brethren  in  developing  that  al- 
ready begun  by  the  earnest  and  aggressive  efforts 
which  are  necessary  to  realize  continued  success  in  the 
mission  which  God  has  committed  to  us. 

Pastoral  Address. 
Dear  Brethren  :  The  organization  of  our  widely 
scattered  Churches  into  an  Annual  Conference  of  the 


154  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church  seems  to  us  a  fitting  time 
in  which  to  address  you  a  few  words  of  Christian 
greeting  and  fraternal  counsel. 

First  of  all,  we  would  ask  you  to  join  with  us  in 
praise  and  thanksgiving  to  God  for  the  goodness  and 
mercy  with  which  he  has  crowned  us  in  the  past,  and 
for  the  tokens  of  promise  which  he  sets  before  us  for 
the  future.  Though  few  in  numbers,  and  weak  in 
most  of  the  elements  by  which  the  world  estimates 
strength,  we  have  yet  abundant  cause  for  encourage- 
ment when  we  review  the  steps  by  which  God  has  led 
us,  and  still  more  when  we  look  at  the  privileges  and 
opportunities  which  invite  us  forward.  Beginning 
without  financial  resources,  without  a  staff  of  laborers, 
without  local  prestige,  and  without  a  single  church  or 
chapel  in  which  to  worship,  we  have  been  led,  often  in 
ways  no  one  could  have  anticipated,  from  one  point  to 
another,  until  in  the  short  space  of  five  years,  a  Church 
of  believers,  under  our  care,  has  been  organized  in 
nearly  every  important  center  thoughout  India.  What- 
ever of  human  imperfection  may  have  entered  into 
this  work  in  the  past,  and  whatever  weakness  may  be 
found  in  it  still,  we  cannot  but  believe  that  it  never 
could  have  been  accomplished,  unless  guided  by  a 
wisdom,  and  sustained  by  a  power,  higher  than  that  of 
frail  and  erring  men. 

Thus  far,  the  majority  of  those  enrolled  as  members 
of  our  various  Churches  have  been  English-speaking 
persons,  and  our  preaching  and  other  services  have 
been  chiefly  conducted  in  the  English  language;  but 
from  the  first  our  aim  has  been  ultimately  to  reach  the 
masses,  of  whatever  race  or  religion,  with  whom  our 


South  India  Coi^feeence.  155 

members  might  be  brought  in  contact.  As  the  Jews, 
who  had  been  so  strangely  scattered  throughout  the 
Roman  Empire,  were  constantly  used  by  the  first  evan- 
gelists as  a  connecting  link  between  their  work  and  the 
heathen  world,  so  it  seemed  highly  possible,  if  not  in- 
deed manifestly  certain,  that  the  English-speaking 
Christians  of  India  have  been  scattered  far  and  wide 
throughout  the  land,  that,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
they  might  be  used  to  help  forward  the  work  of  bring- 
ing India  to  Christ.  Hence,  it  is  our  earnest  desire 
that  every  Church  under  our  care  should  be,  in  the 
most  practical  sense,  a  Missionary  Church,  not  in  feel- 
ing or  conviction  merely,  but  in  direct,  aggressive, 
earnest  work  for  the  salvation  of  the  people  of  India. 

To  secure  this  result,  it  is  necessary  that  we,  one  and 
all,  be  a  working  people.  We  make  no  provision  for 
a  market-place  in  which  any  of  our  people  may  stand 
idle,  but  trust  that  every  one  may  find  some  task,  how- 
ever lowly,  on  which  to  jDut  forth  earnest  effort  for  our 
loving  Master.  Not  every  one  can  find  a  conspicuous  place 
in  which  to  work,  but  God  never  fails  to  provide  that 
kind  of  labor  and  that  sphere  of  action  which  is  precisely 
adapted  to  the  peculiar  wants  and  individual  talents  of 
each  disciple.  May  we  not,  therefore,  urge  you,  dear 
brethren  and  sisters,  ever  to  hold  yourselves  in  readi- 
ness to  rise  up  at  the  Master's  bidding,  and  engage 
heartily  in  whatever  work  he  may  set  before  you,  as 
well  as  submit  cheerfully  to  whatever  burden  he  may 
lay  upon  you. 

In  the  development  of  our  work  thus  far  we  have 
introduced  no  new  plans  and  advocated  no  new  theo- 
ries, but  have  simply  fallen  back  upon  the  evangelical 


156  Sele-Supporting  Missioi^s. 

methods  pursued  by  our  fathers  in  England  and  Amer- 
ica for  which  exceptional  opportunities  seem  to  be 
offered  among  the  English-speaking  people  in  India. 
It  has  been  our  aim  to  let  the  Gospel  become  self- 
propagating,  or,  in  other  words,  to  go  forth  as  evan- 
gelists preaching  the  Word,  and  organizing  those  con- 
verted into  Churches,  financially  self-supporting,  and 
spiritually  aggressive  and  self-sacrificing.  We  have 
believed  that  wherever  this  is  done  in  the  true  spirit 
of  the  Gospel,  the  Holy  Spirit  will  not  fail  to  thrust 
out  more  reapers  from  the  ranks  of  those  thus  brought 
to  Christ ;  and  it  is  certainly  a  striking  attestation  of 
our  faith  in  this  respect,  that  six  of  the  Churches  under 
our  care  have  been  organized  mainly  through  the  ef- 
forts of  those  who  had  thus  been  thrust  out  from  our 
membership  by  the  Lord  of  the  harvest.  Our  hope  and 
trust  is  that  the  same  plan  may,  with  God's  blessing, 
succeed  on  a  larger  scale  when  fairly  introduced  among 
the  thronging  multitudes  of  Hindus  and  Mohammedans 
around  us. 

In  pursuing  this  course  we  have  been  influenced, 
partly  by  the  necessities  of  the  case,  partly  by  the  ex- 
ceptional circumstances  around  us,  partly  by  our  con- 
viction that  the  early  fathers  of  Methodism,  not  to  say 
of  the  New  Testament,  had  set  us  a  precedent,  and 
partly  by  the  hope,  as  above  indicated,  of  extending 
this  work  in  all  its  simplicity  and  efficiency.  As  we 
succeed  or  fail  in  realizing  this  hope  will  our  work  as 
a  whole  be  ultimately  judged  not  only  by  men,  but  by 
the  Judge  of  all  things.  We  must,  therefore,  not  only 
aim  to  engage  in  practical  missionary  work,  but  we 
must    carefully   maintain    the   essential   principles  on 


South  I]S"dia  Conferei^ce.  157 

which  we  have  set  out  in  extending  our  work  among 
the  natives  of  India. 

It  is,  perhaps,  needless  for  us  to  remind  you  that 
such  a  plan  as  we  have  adopted  must  necessarily  in- 
volve no  small  measure  of  self-denial,  both  on  the  part 
of  the  ministers  of  the  Church,  and  of  those  ministered 
to.  No  congregation  under  our  care  is  able  to  give 
more  than  a  very  slender  support  to  its  pastor,  and  we 
trust  no  one  among  us  loves  the  work  less  on  this  ac- 
count. Our  only  desire  is  that  the  spirit  of  self-sacri- 
fice may  be  mutual  as  between  pastor  and  people,  and 
general,  as  applied  to  the  whole  company  of  associated 
believers.  May  it  be  our  highest  ambition,  our  most 
earnest  desire,  to  hold  every  interest  subordinate  to  the 
will  of  Christ,  to  hold  our  individual  rights  as  nothing, 
our  opportunities  for  doing  something  for  Christ  as 
every  thing ;  and  may  we  ever  remember  that  the  min- 
ister does  not  belong  to  the  congregation,  nor  the  con- 
gregation to  the  minister,  but  that  both  belong  to  Him 
who  has  purchased  them  with  his  most  precious  blood. 

Suffer  us,  dear  brethren  and  sisters,  to  impress  upon 
you  the  importance  of  maintaining  a  due  regard  for 
the  organization  and  discipline  of  the  Church.  From 
the  first  our  Church  has  been  organized  as  a  "  Church 
militant,"  an  active  and  aggressive  body  of  disciplined 
believers  arrayed  against  the  powers  of  evil.  While 
discarding  every  semblance  of  sacerdotal  authority  or 
ecclesiastical  tyranny,  we  nevertheless  try  to  follow 
the  New  Testament  precedents  in  effecting  proper  or- 
ganizations and  maintaining  a  firm  discipline  among 
our  people.  We  believe  this  discipline,  widely  as  it 
may  differ  in  spirit,  to  be  nevertheless  as  important  to 


158  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

our  highest  efficiency  as  military  discipline  is  to  the 
efficiency  of  an  army.  Such  a  discipline  can  only  be 
secured  among  us  by  your  cordial  co-operation,  and  by 
the  frequent  exercise  of  that  spirit  of  self-denial  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken. 

While  urging  your  careful  observance  of  the  General 
Rules  of  the  Church,  we  would  make  particular  refer- 
ence to  the  rule  in  respect  to  temperance.  In  adopting 
as  a  General  Rule  the  principle  of  total  abstinence,  we 
do  so  expressly  on  the  scriptural  ground  that  whatever 
imperils  our  weakest  brother  should  be  put  far  from 
among  us.  We  are  convinced  by  wide  observation 
and  no  little  practical  experience,  that  we  can  never  do 
much  practical  good  to  intemperate  persons  on  any  other 
principle,  and  we  are  profoundly  convinced  that  tlie 
masses  of  the  people  of  India  would  be  exposed  to 
frightful  danger  if  released  from  their  traditional  re- 
strictions, and  exposed  to  the  temptations  to  drink 
which  unhappily  are  now  within  the  reach  of  nearly  all. 
Our  rule  is  founded  upon  the  scriptural  principle  of 
self-denial  for  a  brother's  sake,  and  to  this  principle 
we  should  carefully  adhere.  Other  Christian  friends 
may  not  see  their  duty  in  the  same  light,  and  we  must 
be  careful  not  to  judge  them  in  meat  or  drink;  but,  while 
extending  the  broadest  charity  to  every  believer,  let  us 
firmly  maintain  the  position  in  which  God  has  enabled 
us  to  rescue  many  victims  of  intemperance,  and,  as  we 
believe,  to  shield  many  weak  disciples  from  a  fatal 
danger. 

While  deeply  absorbed  in  Christian  labor,  and  anx- 
iously watchful  over  our  individual  piety,  we  must  not 
forget  the  duties  and  privileges  which  cluster  around 


South  India  Conference.     159 

the  words  family  and  home.  Parents  should  remember 
that  while  God  solemnly  warns  them  that  in  an  impor- 
tant sense  they  are  responsible  for  the  future  welfare 
of  their  children,  he  does  not  withhold  from  them 
special  promises  of  aid  and  blessing.  Every  home 
should  be  esteemed  sacred  as  a  household  sanctuary, 
and  the  presence  of  Him  who  never  scorns  the  most 
humble  door  should  be  constantly  invoked  at  the 
family  altar.  He  who  promised  that  upon  every  dwell- 
ing place  in  Mount  Zion  shall  be  the  pillar  of  cloud  by 
day  and  the  shining  of  a  flaming  fire  by  night,  is  true 
to  his  promise  still,  and  will  surely  dwell  with  those 
who  call  upon  him.  May  we  not  urge  you,  then,  to 
maintain  family  worship  morning  and  evening,  to  tram 
your  children  in  the  fear  of  God,  to  banish  from  the 
sacred  circle  of  home  every  thing  in  word  or  temper 
Avhich  does  not  befit  a  holy  place,  and  thus  to  exhibit 
to  the  world  the  power  of  the  religion  of  Christ  to 
sweeten  and  adorn  life  in  its  most  endearing  relation- 
ships ? 

We  share  with  you  your  solemn  obligation  to  train 
up  your  children  in  the  way  of  life.  Our  blessed  Sav- 
iour loves  them  infinitely  more  than  you  do,  and  is  in- 
finitely anxious  that  they  might  be  kept  from  going 
into  the  way  of  sin.  The  Holy  Spirit  ever  waits  to  sec- 
ond your  believing  efforts  to  point  them  to  Christ,  and 
unbelief  alone  on  your  part  can  wholly  thwart  his 
gracious  purpose  to  assist  you.  Receive,  then,  God's 
promise  in  the  fullest  confidence,  remembering  that  it 
is  to  you  and  your  children,  and  daily  look  up  for  help 
in  guiding  and  guarding  them.  Nor  should  you  be  un- 
mindful of    the  solemn  duty  that  rests  upon  you  to 


160  SELF-SuppoETiNa  Missions. 

maintain  a  firm  and  wise  family  discipline.  So  long  as 
you  suffer  your  children  to  be  disobedient  to  you  as 
their  parents,  you  cannot  teach  them  to  obey  God. 
You  cannot,  while  daily  permiting  them  to  break  one 
commandment,  teach  them  to  obey  another.  We  ear- 
nestly advise  you,  therefore,  not  to  yield  to  the  weakness 
of  your  own  parental  feelings,  but  firmly,  though  lov- 
i"g^y>  to  exact  that  obedience  from  your  children  which 
is  due  to  their  interests  even  more  than  your  own. 

It  is  a  thought  full  of  hope  and  encouragement,  that 
our  children,  so  precious  to  us  and  to  God,  may  be 
trained  ujd  to  be  useful  in  India,  far  beyond  our  own 
feeble  measure  of  usefulness.  We  would  that  they 
might  all  be  consecrated  to  God's  work  in  this  needy 
land,  and  we  would  suggest  that  they  be  carefully  in- 
structed in  one  or  more  of  the  vernaculars  of  the  coun- 
try, that  in  whatever  sphere  of  life  their  lot  may  be 
cast  they  may  be  able  to  do  effective  work  for  Christ. 

As  many  of  you  are  brought  into  frequent  contact 
with  other  church  organizations,  and  with  the  agents 
of  various  missionary  societies,  we  will  express  the 
hope  that  you  will  cultivate  the  most  kindly  Christian 
relations  with  all  who  will  permit  you  to  do  so,  and 
especially  to  be  forbearing  and  charitable  toward  those 
whose  church  usages  or  methods  of  labor  may  differ 
much  from  our  own.  God  has  many  kinds  of  work- 
men, and  accepts  many  kinds  of  service,  and  we  must 
never  allow  ourselves  to  think  that  because  he  blesses 
our  peculiar  kind  of  labor,  he  does  not  accept  our 
neighbors'  also.  Let  it  be  our  constant  aim  to  do  our 
own  work  in  the  way  which  God  seems  to  have  indi. 
cated  to  us,  but  let  us  at  the  same  time  ever  keep  a 


South  India  Conference.     161 

right  hand  extended  toward  every  one  who  is  trying  to 
work  in  the  Lord's  great  vineyard. 

Finally,  dear  brethren  and  sisters,  we  beg  your  ear- 
nest prayers  in  our  own  behalf,  that  God  may  give  us 
strength  for  our  day,  and  crown  our  labors  with  his 
constant  blessing.  May  you  and  we  together  walk  ever 
upon  this  highway  of  holiness,  keeping  ourselves  un- 
spotted from  the  world,  living  as  pilgrims  and  stran- 
gers here,  loving  one  another  with  pure  hearts  fervent- 
ly, and  spending  and  being  spent  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord.  May  we  be  filled  with  the  Spirit ;  may  Christ 
dwell  in  our  hearts  by  faith  ;  may  we  be  rooted  and 
grounded  in  his  love  ;  may  the  promised  power  of  the 
Pentecostal  day  be  revealed  in  all  our  assemblies  and 
attend  all  our  labors  ;  and  may  we  thus,  with  God's 
gracious  blessing,  go  on  from  strength  to  strength,  until 
one  by  one  we  are  all  permitted  to  appear  in  the 
heavenly  Zion  before  God. 

Education. 

It  must  be  apparent  to  all  who  are  acquainted  with 
our  work  in  India  that  we  have  reached  a  point  in  the 
history  of  this  work  when  it  has  become  an  imperative 
necessity  for  the  further  and  successful  prosecution  of 
this  work,  that  schools  for  the  education  of  the  youth 
of  India  brought  under  our  influence  should  be  estab- 
lished. 

Your  Committee  would  respectfully  submit  the  fol- 
lowing recommendations  : 

1.  That  as  soon  as  the  services  of  a  competent  teacher 
can  be  obtained  a  school  be  opened. 

2.  That  the  school  shall  have  a  primary  or  common- 


162  SELF-SuppoRTma  Missions. 

school  course,  and  may  also  have  a  high-school  course, 
which  shall  prepare  students  for  the  Government  Ma- 
triculation standard. 

3.  That  the  High  School  be  located  at  Poona,  and 
that  the  South  and  West  portions  of  the  Conference 
unite  in  sustaining  it  for  the  present  ;  and  that  primary- 
schools  be  established  as  far  as  possible  at  different 
stations  of  our  work. 

4.  That  only  so  much  be  charged  for  tuition  and 
board  as  is  necessary  to  pay  the  current  expenses  of  the 
school,  thus  bringing  it  within  reach  of  families  of 
moderate  means. 

5.  That,  as  the  character  of  the  school  will  depend 
almost  entirely  on  the  qualifications  of  its  principal,  no 
B(;hool  be  opened  till  an  experienced  and  well-qualified 
teacher  can  be  obtained. 

6.  That  a  Board  of  Education,  consisting  of  five  mem- 
bers, be  appointed,  without  whose  consent  no  school 
shall  be  opened  during  the  Conference  year. 

Yernacular  Studies. 
The  committee  appointed  to   prepare   a   course  of 
study  in  the  vernaculars  of  India  beg  leave  to  submit 
for  adoption  the  following  rules  : 

1.  Every  preacher  admitted  into  the  Conference,  un- 
less excused  by  a  special  vote  of  the  Conference,  shall 
be  required  to  study  one  of  the  Indian  languages. 

2.  Those  who  pursue  such  a  course  of  vernacular 
study  in  connection  with  the  regular  studies  prescribed 
by  the  Discipline,  may,  with  the  sanction  of  the  Board 
of  Bishops,  be  excused  from  such  portion  of  the  latter 
course  as  does  not  relate  to  strictly  theological  subjects. 


South  India  Conference.     163 

3.  The  examinations  in  the  vernacular  shall  be  as 
follows  : 

First  Year. — A  standard  Grammar  of  the  language, 
selected  elementary  reading  lessons,  and  the  Gospel  of 
Matthew. 

Second  Year. — The  Gospels  of  Mark,  Luke,  and 
John,  one  hundred  pages  of  some  standard  book  used 
for  examinations  in  the  language,  and  oral  exercises. 

Third  Year. — The  New  Testament  Epistles,  two 
hundred  pages  in  a  standard  book,  and  a  written  ser- 
mon. 

Fourth  YeaT-.— The  Psalms  and  Prophets,  written  ex- 
ercises as  furnished  by  examiners,  two  hundred  pages 
in  a  standard  book,  and  a  written  sermon. 

4.  The  examination  upon  the  above  may  be  con- 
ducted at  the  Conference  session,  or  by  a  local  com- 
mittee selected  by  the  Presiding  Elder. 


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166  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

APPOINTMENTS. 

Bombay  Distkict,  G.  Bowen,  P.  E.  Conference 
Evangelist^  William  Taylor.  Bombay^  G.  Bowen  and 
I.  F.  Row,  one  to  be  supplied.  Poona^  J.  Blackstock. 
Tanna,  W.  E.  Robbins.  Egutpoora,  to  be  supplied. 
Mhow,  M.  H.  Nichols.  Nagpore,  W.  J.  Gladwin. 
Kurrackeey  D.  O.  Fox. 

Calcutta  District,  J.  M.  Thoburn,  P.  E.  Calcutta, 
J.  M.  Thoburn  and  F.  A.  Goodwin.  Seameii^s  Church, 
T.  H.  Oakes.  Darjeeling,  to  be  supplied.  Rajmahal, 
P.  M.  Mukerji.  Allahabad,  D.  Osborne  and  L.  R. 
Janney.  Jubbulpore,  to  be  supplied.  Agra,  C.  W. 
Christian.  Meerut,  G.  K.  Gilder.  BoorJcee,  D.  H. 
Lee. 

Madras  District,  C.  P.  Hard,  P.  E.  Madras,  C. 
P.  Hard,  F.  G.  Davis,  B.  Peters,  one  to  be  supplied. 
Bangalore,  J.  Shaw  and  W.  E.  Newlon.  Bellary,  to 
be  supplied.  Hyderabad  and  Secunderabad,  I.  E. 
Robinson  and  W.  T.  G.  Curties. 


South  India  Conference.  167 


XIII. 

SIXTH  SESSION  OF  THE    SOUTH  INDIA  CON- 
FERENCE. 

Passing  silently  over  a  period  of  ^ve  event- 
ful years,  I  select  this  as  a  stand-point  from 
which  we  may  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  onward 
march  of  this  movement.  The  Conference  met 
in  Bangalore,  November  3,  1881.  Bangalore 
is  a  high  and  healthy  city,  two  hundred  and 
seven  miles  by  rail  from  the  city  of  Madras, 
and  has  a  population  of  about  one  hundred 
thousand.  In  six  weeks  and  a  half  I  organized 
a  Church  one  hundred  strong  of  our  converts, 
and  secured  two  church  sites,  in  1874,  and  now 
Bangalore  has  four  Methodist  ministers  and 
their  families  stationed  there,  and  entertained 
the  Conference  held  in  1881.  I  will  simply 
notice  (1)  the  business  order  of  the  Conference, 

(2)  insert  the  reports  of  the  Presiding  Elders, 

(3)  obituary  notices,  (4)  statistics,  (5)  frater- 
nal letter  from  North  India,  with  personal  re- 
marks on  our  "  Delegated  Conference." 

No  Episcopal  tour  to  India  last  year,  and 
our  old  veteran,  George  Bowen,  was  elected 
President. 


168 


SELF-SuppoRTma  Missions. 


Conference  Members,  1881-82. 


Names. 


George  Bowen 

John  Blackstock , 

Melville  Y.  Bovard 

Cliristopher  W.  Christian. 

William  F.  G.  Curties 

Eobert  E.  Carter 

Franklin  G.  Davis 

Daniel  0.  Fox 

Alexander  G.  Fraser 

George  K.  Gilder 

Levan  E.  Janney 

Simon  P.  Jacobs 

David  H.  Lee 

James  Lyon 

William  E.  Newlon 

James  A.  Northup 

Dennis  Osborne 

Thomas  H.  Oakes 

William  B.  Osborn 

Benjamin  Peters 

William  E.  Eobbins 

John  E.  Eobinson 

Isaac  F.   Eow... 

Ira  A.  Eichards 

James  Shaw 

Oramil  Shreves 

William  Taylor 

James  M.  Thoburn 

Charles  B.  Ward 


Home    Conference    or 
Previous  llesidence, 


(New  York) , 

North-west  Indiana, 
South-east  Indiana, 
(India) 

do     

Wilmington  

Eock  Eiver 

North  Ohio 

(India) 

do     

Central  Ohio 

Kansas 

Erie 

Delaware 

Michigan 

Eock  Eiver 

(India) 

do     

Georgia 

(India) 

Indiana 

Central  Illinois 

New  England 

North  Ohio 

(India) 

Central  Ohio 

California 

Pittsburgh 

Central  Illinois 


tToined 

Conference 

or  arrived 

in  India. 


1847 
1875 
1879 

1874 
1874 
1879 
1875 
1872 
1881 
1874 
1876 
1880 
1875 
1879 
1875 
1877 
1874 
1875 
1877 
1876 
1872 
1874 
1876 
1879 
1874 
1879 
1870 
1859 
1876 


Attendance 
this  SessioQ. 


Present. 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 
Excused. 
Present. 

do 

do 

do 

do 
In  America. 
Present. 

do 

do 
In  AustraKa. 
Present. 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 
In  America. 
Present. 

do 


Wellington  Bowser 

William  W.  Bruere 

William  D.  Brown 

Albert  H.  Baker 

Charles  W.  D.  Souza.... 

George  H.  Greenig 

Herman  Jacobsen 

Marion  B.  Kirk 

Thomas  E.  F.  Morton.. 

William  A.  Moore 

James  P.  Meik 

Prosunno  KoomarNath. 

George  I.  Stone , 

James  S.  Stone 

William  H.  Stephens.... 

William  A.  Thomas 

Algernon  S.  E.  Vardon. 
John  D.  Webb 


PEOBATIONERS. 


Erie 

(United  States). 

(India) 

(United  States). 

(India) 

(United  States). 

(India) 

East  Ohio 

(India) 

do     

do     

do     

Ohio 

East  Ohio 

(United  States) . 
(India) 

do  

(United  States). 


1879 
1880 
1880 
1881 
1881 
1881 
1881 
1879 
1880 
1880 
1881 
1881 
1879 
1880 
1880 
1881 
1881 
1881 


Excused. 

Present. 
Excused. 
Present. 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 
Excused. 

do 

do 
Excused. 
Present. 
Excused. 

do 
Present. 


South  India  Conference.     169 

Officers  and  Committees,  1881-82. 

President,  George  Bowen.  Secretary,  J.  A.  Northrop. 
Assistant  Secretary,  W.  E.  Robbing.  Statistical  Secre- 
tary, T.  H.  Oakes.     Recording  Secretary,  G.  K.  Gilder. 

Publishing  Committee  :  Chairman,  D.  O.  Fox, 
1883.  Secretary,  W.  B.  Wright,  1884.  W.  E.  Rob- 
bins,  W.  J.  Gladwin,  1882  ;  Wm.  Bedford,  Jas.  Morris, 
1884. 

Board  of  Education  :  J.  M.  Thoburn,  J.  B.  Law- 
rence, 1882  ;  F.  G.  Davis,  A.  G.  Fraser,  1883  ;  George 
Bowen,  W.  H.  Barker,  1884. 

Trustees  op  Poona  School  :  D.  O.  Fox,  J.  A. 
Northrup,  G.  Bowen,  A.  G.  Fraser,  J.  Morris,  S.  M. 
Smylie,  W.  E.  Robbins. 

Trustees  of  Bangalore  School  :  D.  O.  Fox,  C. 
W.  Christian,  J.  B.  Lawrence,  W.  N.  Wroughton,  C. 
Christian,  P.  B.  Gordon,  J.  Morrell. 

Trustees  of  Memorial  School,  Cawnpore  :  J.  W. 
Waugh,  H.  Petman,  D.  Osborne,  W.  J.  Coen,  1882  ; 
T.  Craven,  A.  Bare,  1881  ;  J.  M.  Thoburn,  J.  F. 
Deatker,  1884. 

Committee  on  Vernacular  Publications:  D.  O. 
Fox,  D.  Osborne,  J.  M.  Thoburn. 

Church  Extension  Committee:  President,  D.  Os- 
borne, 1884.  Secretary,  J.  Shaw,  1883.  Treasurer, 
J.  Morris,  1882.  H.  Wale,  D.  O.  Fox,  1884  ;  F.  G. 
Davis,  1882  ;  P.  B.  Gordon,  1883. 

Commission  on  Colar  Orphanage  :  D.  O.  Fox, 
D.  Osborne,  J.  M.  Thoburn. 

Fraternal  Delegate  to  North  India  Confer- 
since  :    D.  Osborne. 


170  Self-Suppoeting  Missioin-s. 

To  Preach  the  Missionary  Sermon  :  J.  A.  North- 
rup. 

Committees  of  Examination  :  First  year,  J.  Shaw, 
T.  H.  Oakes.  Second  year,  J.  E.  Robinson,  F.  G.  Davis. 
Third  year,  L.  R.  Janney,  M.  Y.  Bovard.  Fourth  year^ 
S.  P.  Jacobs,  D.  H.  Lee.  Admission  on  Trial,  W.  E. 
Robbins,  J.  Blackstock.  Vernacidar  /Studies,  G.  Bo  wen, 
D.  Osborne,  C.  B.  Ward,  B.  Peters. 

Report  of  Brother  Ward's  Orphanage. 

By  request  I  report  on  our  Orphanage  work,  as  follows; 

1.  In  Christian  Orplianage — 

Native  Orphan  Boys 27 

"  "      Girls 33==60 

2.  In  Christian  Home  — 

East  Indian  Boys G 

"         "       Girls 2=  8 

Total  No.  of  Orphans. .       68 

Becdpis  from  November  30th,  1880,  to  October  Slst,  1881: 
Christian  Orphanage Rs.     3,095  11  3 

"        Home "         500     0  0 

For  support  of  missionary  in  charge,  as  before 

reported Rs.         800     0  0 

Total  Receipts.  Rs.     4,395  11  3 
Balance  in  hand  October  31st,  1881..  "  200  00  0 

C.  B.  WARD. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Memoirs. 
1.     F.  A.  Goodwin. 
Rev.  Frank   A.   Goodwin   was   born   at   Biddeford, 
Maine,  on  the  13th  September,  1847,  and  died  at  the 
same  place  on  the  16th  of  August,  1881. 

He  was  converted  in  Portland,  Maine,  in  1866,  when 


South  liSrDiA  Coi^ference.  171 

nineteen  years  of  age,  and  maintained  a  consistent 
Christian  walk  until  1873,  when  his  usefulness  so  com- 
mended him  to  his  brethren  that  he  was  licensed  to 
preach.  He  was  soon  afterward  appointed  City  Mis- 
sionary by  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  for  six  months  rendered  very  effect- 
ive service  to  the  association.  Feeling  deeply,  how- 
ever, his  need  of  a  more  thorough  preparation  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  he  repaired  to  Drew  Seminary, 
and  entered  upon  a  course  of  regular  theological  study. 
During  the  following  year,  however,  a  very  urgent  call 
came  from  the  South  India  Mission  for  additional  mis- 
sionaries, and  Dr.  Eddy,  then  one  of  the  Missionary 
Secretaries,  meeting  Brother  Goodwin  accidentally  at 
Chautauqua,  was  strongly  impressed  that  he  ought  to 
go,  and  tendered  him  an  appointment  to  our  field. 
After  due  prayer  and  deliberation,  the  offer  was  ac- 
cepted, and  a  few  weeks  later,  on  the  20th  October,  in 
company  with  Revs.  C.  P.  Hard  and  J.  E.  Robinson, 
he  sailed  for  India. 

On  his  arrival  in  Bombay,  on  the  19th  of  December, 
1874,  he  was  appointed  to  Kurrachee,  and  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  that  station.  He  found  the  work  in  a  par- 
tially disorganized  state,  and  encountered  grave  diffi- 
culties in  his  first  work  in  India,  but  bis  strong  faith 
and  his  indomitable  energy  carried  him  successfully 
through  all  difficulties,  and  at  the  end  of  two  years  he 
was  prepared  to  leave  the  charge  in  a  comparatively 
prosperous  state.  On  his  arrival  he  found  the  little 
congregation  embarrassed  by  the  want  of  a  place  of 
worship,  and  he  at  once  resolved  that  our  cause  should 
have  not  only  a  name  but  a  habitation  in  Kurrachee. 


172  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

The  attempt  to  build  seemed  an  almost  hopeless  enter- 
prise, but,  having  secured  the  necessary  sanction,  he 
began  the  work,  and  before  the  close  of  his  term  of 
service  completed  both  a  church  and  parsonage,  both  of 
which  he  left  unincumbered  by  debt.  To  those  ac- 
quainted with  the  difficulties  his  success  in  this  enter- 
prise was  simply  wonderful.  It  is  a  high  tribute  to 
the  usefulness  of  a  Methodist  minister  whose  term  of 
service  with  a  congregation  is  usually  short,  that  he  is 
able  to  leave  permanent  marks  of  his  usefulness  behind 
him  at  every  point  where  he  is  called  to  labor. 

At  the  organization  of  the  South  India  Conference,  in 
1876,  Brother  Goodwin  was  appointed  by  Bishop  An- 
drews as  junior  pastor  to  Calcutta.  With  characteris- 
tic promptitude  he  hastened  to  his  new  post  and  at  once 
entered  upon  his  work  with  great  energy.  His  first 
special  work  was  in  the  Sunday-school,  to  which  he 
gave  a  great  impetus  and  in  which  he  achieved  a  notable 
success.  He  was  a  very  efficient  pastoral  visitor,  and 
in  other  respects  filled  the  post  of  junior  pastor  very 
faithfully.  Early  in  the  year,  however,  it  became  nec- 
essary to  transfer  him  to  the  Seamen's  Church,  made 
vacant  by  the  illness  and  removal  of  Brother  Oakes,  and 
he  here  began  what  was  to  be  his  last,  as  well  as  most 
notable  work  in  India. 

With  a  view  to  bringing  the  sailors  as  near  as  pos- 
sible to  the  Church,  a  house  was  rented  in  Dhurrumtolla- 
street,  in  which  a  coifee-room,  reading-room,  and  prayer- 
room  were  provided,  and  nightly  services  held.  This 
entailed  a  great  deal  of  severe  labor  upon  Brother 
Goodwin,  but,  not  satisfied  with  the  very  encouraging 
success  achieved,  he  soon  began  to  plan  for  a  much 


South  Iistdia  Conference.  173 

larger  work.  Our  excellent  friend,  Colonel  Haig,  had 
opened  similar  rooms  in  the  vicinity  of  Lai  Bazaar,  and 
he  proposed  that  the  two  institutions  be  united  in  Lai 
Bazaar,  itself.  This  street,  and  some  adjacent  streets 
and  lanes,  were  literally  infested  with  sailors,  boarding- 
houses,  and  grog-shops  of  a  very  low  class;  and  it 
seemed  like  carrying  the  war  into  Africa  to  open  a 
mission  immediately  among  them.  The  only  eligible 
building  which  could  be  found  could  only  be  obtained 
at  a  cost  of  430  rupees  per  mensem,  and  it  seemed  almost 
reckless  to  attempt  to  open  the  mission  in  so  expensive 
a  place.  Kind  friends  dissuaded,  but  believing  that 
God  was  directing  the  movement,  the  house  was  taken, 
and  in  April,  1878,  it  was  formally  opened.  It  is  need- 
less to  record  the  story  of  its  success.'  For  more  than 
three  years  the  good  work  has  gone  forward,  and  many 
hundreds  of  seamen  have  been  awakened  and  converted 
to  God  through  the  agency  of  this  mission.  Many  of 
the  adjacent  drinking-shops  have  been  closed,  and  the 
whole  neighborhood  has  been  improved  by  it.  The  Lai 
Bazaar  Coffee  Rooms  are  known  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  and  many  kind  words,  and  some  more  substantial 
tokens,  have  been  received  from  grateful  friends  in  dis- 
tant lands. 

After  a  year  of  successful  labor  in  Lai  Bazaar,  Broth- 
er Goodwin's  restless  energy  began  to  crave  some  new 
employment,  which  very  opportunely  was  furnished, 
through  a  suggestion  from  Sir  Ashley  Eden  that  a 
place  similar  to  the  one  in  Lai  Bazaar  should  be  opened 
in  the  suburb  of  Hastings,  for  the  benefit  of  the  ship- 
ping in  the  lower  part  of  the  river.  It  was  deter- 
mined to  purchase  a  house  in  Hastings  and  make  such 


174  Self-Supportin-g  Missions. 

additions  to  it  as  might  be  necessary.  This  was  done, 
and  the  new  mission  formally  inaugurated  in  April, 
1880.  The  amount  of  labor  which  devolved  upon 
Brother  Goodwin  in  connection  with  this  enterprise  was 
very  great.  He  collected  about  18,000  rupees  toward 
the  purchase  and  enlargement  of  the  property,  and  per- 
sonally superintended  much  of  the  work,  and  when  the 
rooms  were  opened  he  threw  himself  with  characteris- 
tic energy  into  the  work  among  the  sailors,  and  toiled 
on  until  suddenly  prostrated  by  severe  illness. 

It  was  feared  from  the  first  that  his  sickness  would 
be  unto  death,  but  no  effort  was  spared  to  secure  his 
recovery.  He  was  sent  to  Natal,  in  Africa,  in  the  hope 
that  the  voyage  might  do  him  good,  but  returned  with- 
out visible  improvement.  He  slowly  but  surely  con- 
tinued to  decline  until  he  was  imperatively  ordered  to 
leave  India,  in  the  hope  of  prolonging,  rather  than  of  sav- 
ing, his  life.  He  sailed  from  Calcutta  on  the  19th  of  Feb- 
ruary, and,  stopping  a  month  at  Malta,  reached  America 
in  the  balmy  days  of  spring.  He  was  conveyed  safely  to 
his  mother's  home  by  the  sea-side,  and  there,  with  all  the 
care  and  attention  that  a  devoted  wife  and  loving  moth- 
er could  render  him,  he  calmly  awaited  his  summons 
to  his  Father's  house.  It  came  to  find  him  ready  and 
waiting.  "  I  am  trusting  ;  I  am  resting  fully  in  Jesus," 
was  his  last  testimony. 

Our  toil-worn  brother  rests  at  last,  and  truly  his  works 
do  follow  him.  Few  ministers  of  his  age  leave  behind 
them  so  much  tangible  work  accomplished  as  did  he. 
He  was  never  idle,  and  no  one  ever  saw  him  working 
in  a  perfunctory  manner.  Work  with  him  was  another 
name  for  earnestness.     What  he  did  he  did  heartily  as 


South  India  Coitfereis-ce.  175 

nnto  the  Lord.  If  we  may  be  i^ardoned  for  alluding 
to  what  he  himself  considered  an  error  after  he  had 
been  stricken  down,  his  greatest  mistake  consisted  in 
working  too  inconsiderately.  The  love  of  hard  work 
becomes  almost  a  passion  with  some  men,  and  many  a 
Christian  laborer  forgets  that  his  Master  would  have 
mercy  and  not  sacrifice.  Our  dear  brother  felt  this 
after  he  was  prostrated,  regretted  that  he  had  not  more 
clearly  regarded  his  health  as  a  sacred  trust  from  God. 
But  no  one  can  speak  of  this  error  with  the  slightest 
feeling  of  censure  implied  in  it.  If  our  brother  wore 
himself  out  prematurely  by  unremitting  toil,  we  may 
Avell  apply  to  him  the  words  of  a  great  religious  leader : 
"  It  is  better  to  wear  out  than  to  rust  out."  No  speck 
of  rust  was  ever  permitted  to  gather  on  his  blade. 

To  our  bereaved  sister,  the  faithful  companion  and 
helpmate  of  our  deceased  brother,  we  tender  our  heart- 
felt sympathy,  and  assure  her  of  our  earnest  prayers. 
May  the  God  of  all  mercies  ever  care  for  her  and  her 
little  ones. 

I  went  to  Biddeford,  Maine,  last  July,  and 
spent  two  days  with  our  dying  brother — days 
of  mournful  pleasure.  His  last  words  were, 
"  Mother,  you've  been  very  kind  to  me.  Meet 
me  in  heaven."  He  then  turned  over,  and  died 
in  a  minute  after  without  a  moan. 

He  is  the  second  member  of  the  South  India 
Conference  who  has  gained  his  crown.  The 
first  was  Rev.  Hiram  Torbet,  than  whom  we 
never  sent  a  better  man  to  India. 


176  SELF-SuppoETiNa  Missions. 

2.  Sister  Gilder, 

In  the  death  of  our  dear  sister,  the  wife  of  Brother 
G.  K.  Gilder,  we  have  to  mourn  the  removal  of  one 
upon  whom  the  grace  of  God  rested  in  a  singularly  at- 
tractive way.  Called  at  the  age  of  ten  years  to  a  sav- 
ing knowledge  of  Christ,  she  continued  unfalteringly 
to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  great  Shepherd  and 
Bishop  of  our  souls,  adorning  the  doctrine  of  God  our 
Saviour  in  the  eyes  of  all  who  witnessed  her  blameless 
walk  and  conversation. 

She  had  the  ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit 
which  is  in  the  sight  of  God  of  great  price.  She  was  a 
true  helpmeet  to  our  brother  in  their  brief  wedded  life. 
During  a  protracted  and  trying  illness  her  patience, 
submission,  and  trust  never  failed.  Realizing  clearly 
the  probability  of  being  taken  from  a  circle  where  she 
was  so  tenderly  loved,  she  nevertheless  acquiesced, 
without  repining,  at  the  will  of  the  Master  ;  and  when 
it  became  fully  evident  that  she  was  soon  to  part  with 
her  loved  husband  and  little  ones,  and  close  her  eyes 
upon  the  world  at  the  early  age  of  twenty  years,  she 
rejoiced  in  Him  who  is  mighty  to  save.  At  her  request 
the  hymn  "  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul,"  was  sung  as  her 
spirit  took  its  flight  to  the  realms  of  the  blest  on  the 
19th  of  May.  As  a  Conference,  we  sympathize  deeply 
with  our  Brother  Gilder,  at  the  same  time  that  we  re- 
mind him  that  the  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed. 

Brother  and  Sister  Gilder  are  botli  natives 
of  India,  and  were  both,  saved  early  in  the 
progress  of  our  work. 


South  India  Conference.  177 

PRESIDING  ELDERS'  REPORTS. 
1.  Bombay  District. — D.  O.  Fox,  Presiding  Elder. 

We  desire  first  to  express  our  gratitude  to  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  for  the  degree  of  prosperity 
that  has  attended  the  work  on  the  district  as  a  whole 
throughout  the  year.  God  has  been  with  his  workers 
and  blessed  his  work. 

In  Bombay  there  are  three  pastoral  charges  under 
one  Quarterly  Conference.  At  Grant  Road,  Brother 
Jacobs  has  labored  as  pastor.  During  the  year  there 
have  been  twenty-eight  conversions,  and  many  Chris- 
tians have  been  greatly  strengthened  in  their  Christian 
character.  Several  members,  encouraged  by  the  pas- 
tor, have  rendered  efficient  aid  in  the  native  work. 

Brother  Shreves  has  had  charge  of  the  church  in  the 
Fort.  He  has  had  a  year  of  prosperity.  The  place  of 
worship  is  within  reach  of  the  harbor  and  of  the  Euro- 
pean soldiers.  During  the  year  there  have  been  con- 
versions among  the  sailors  and  soldiers  as  well  as 
among  the  civilians.  At  a  weekly  preaching  service 
held  in  the  European  Hospital,  a  number  of  the 
patients  have  been  led  to  Jesus. 

In  Mazagon,  Brother  Stephens,  who  was  appointed 
junior  preacher,  has  done  nearly  all  the  pastoral  work. 
He  did  it  efficiently.  He  not  only  visited  members  of 
the  church  and  congregation,  but  gained  access  to 
many  Roman  Catholic  families.  He  has  a  children's 
class  which  numbers  thirty-five.  Among  these  are  some 
children  of  Roman  Catholics.  A  native  day  and  Sun- 
day-school has  been  opened  under  the  care  of  a  native 

Christian  teacher.     Brother  Stephens  is  also  principal 
12 


178  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

of  a  day-school.  It  began  in  March,  18S0,  with  four 
scholars,  and  now  has  over  seventy  on  the  roll. 

The  church  in  Poona  and  Lanowlee  is  under  the  care  of 
Brother  Northrup  and  Brother  Bruere.  This  is  North- 
rup's  third  year  here.  The  work  has  steadily  grown 
under  his  ministrations.  This  year  has  been  the  best  of 
the  three.  The  congregations  are  large  and  regular, 
and  the  Sunday-school  has  developed  into  a  fruitful 
nursery  of  the  Church.  The  last  two  months  were 
marked  by  a  revival,  in  which  the  Church  was  much 
quickened  and  several  sinners  were  converted.  Serv- 
ices have  been  held  regularly  in  Lanowlee.  There  is  a 
large  number  of  Europeans  here,  but  during  the  year 
there  have  been  no  conversions.  By  removals  the 
society  here  has  been  reduced  to  a  very  small  number. 
We  trust  that  Lanowlee  will  ere  long  be  visited  with 
a  glorious  revival  and  many  of  the  people  converted  to 
God. 

The  Poona  school,  under  the  supervision  of  Brother 
Robbins,  continues  to  fill  a  want  long  felt  in  our  work 
on  this  district.  Brother  Robbins  has  had  charge  of 
the  school  from  its  beginning,  and  has  done  hard  and 
faithful  work.  The  number  of  boarders  is  the  largest 
since  it  opened.  On  the  roll  are  49  scholars.  In  con- 
nection with  the  European  school  is  a  native  school, 
also  under  his  supervision. 

Egutpoora  Circuit  consists  of  the  English  Church 
in  the  station,  and  the  Thakkur  Mission.  Brother 
Gilder  had  charge.  The  work  at  the  station  among 
the  Europeans  has  held  steadily  on,  without  much 
change.  The  work  among  the  Thakkurs  was  inter- 
rupted   by    the    sickness    of   Sister   Gilder.      Brother 


South  India  Coi^ference.  179 

Gilder  was  out  on  a  tour  through  the  mission  when 
Sister  Gilder  was  taken  sick.  Her  illness  continued 
over  two  months,  resulting  in  her  death.  The  mon- 
soons followed,  preventing  any  further  work  in  the 
mission  field.  But  a  mission  house  is  under  construc- 
tion, and  a  native  preacher  has  been  appointed  to  this 
work  and  has  already  gone  to  his  field  of  labor.  The 
native  preacher  is  supported  by  the  Church  at  Egut- 
poora.  The  other  expenses  have  been  met  by  contri- 
butions from  friends  interested  in  this  work.  This 
promises  to  be  one  of  the  most  interesting  fields  of 
native  work  in  the  Conference. 

Bhusawal  was  attached  to  Egutpoora  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year ;  but  on  account  of  its  distance  from 
that  place  it  has  been  made  a  separate  charge.  Brother 
Greenig  was  appointed  to  supply  the  work  till  Confer- 
ence. He  has  done  good  work.  There  have  been  sev- 
eral conversions.  A  lot  has  been  obtained  for  a  build- 
ing site,  and  a  good  portion  of  the  money  needed  to 
build  a  church  has  been  raised. 

Brother  Morton  has  labored  in  Kagpore.  He  has 
had  a  successful  year ;  sinners  have  been  converted  and 
the  society  greatly  strengthened.  He  has  preached  once 
a  week  at  Kamptee,  and  at  other  stations  on  the  railway. 
A  good  native  work  is  carried  on  at  Kamptee  by 
Brother  Samuel,  a  native  preacher.  He  is  an  earnest, 
humble  and  deeply  pious  man.  His  wife,  Rebecca,  is 
fully  as  good  a  worker  as  he  is.  Their  son,  about  ten 
years  of  age,  often  bears  his  testimony  for  Jesus  at  the 
street  preaching.  He  and  his  family  are  a  good  speci- 
men of  the  kind  of  Christians  who  will  conquer  India 
for  Christ. 


180  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Ahmedabad  and  Baroda  have  been  supplied  by- 
Brother  Baker.  He  came  out  from  America  in  Janu- 
ary last.  He  is  one  of  our  most  earnest  and  faithful 
laborers.  The  work  in  Ahmedabad  had  been  at  a  stand- 
still for  several  years.  The  last  of  this  year  three 
persons  were  converted,  and  the  good  cause  has  taken 
a  new  life.  In  Baroda  the  society  has  nearly  com- 
pleted a  beautiful  church,  which  will  be  ready  for  dedi- 
cation in  a  few  weeks,  free  of  debt.  An  interesting 
native  work  has  been  opened  here.  A  native  preacher 
has  been  employed  by  the  Church  to  preach  in  the  city 
of  Baroda.  In  August  I  baptized  six  adult  converts 
and  five  children.  The  adults  gave  good  evidence 
that  they  had  found  Jesus  able  to  save.  They  are  living 
in  their  homes  in  the  city,  and  bearing  a  faithful  testi- 
mony. 

Kurrachee,  as  the  sea-port  of  the  Punjaub,  and  all 
north  and  west  of  the  Punjaub,  will  always  be  a  very 
important  station.  Our  Church  there  has  passed  through 
a  year  of  severe  trial.  Brother  Janny  has  labored 
amid  many  difficulties.  But  we  think  the  work  has 
entered  upon  a  new  life.  Those  who  remain  in  the 
Church  are  united  in  love  and  harmony,  and,  we  trust, 
will  form  the  nucleus  of  an  earnest  and  Christ-like 
people. 

2.  Calcutta   District. — J.  M.  Thobukn,  Presiding 
Elder, 

The  work  of  this  district  is  practically  confined 
to  the  two  cities  of  Calcutta  and  Rangoon.  Several 
attempts  have  been  made  to  gain  a  foot-hold  at  other 
points,  but  thus  far. without  success.     This  is  chiefly 


South  India  Coistference.  181 

owing  to  the  sparseness  of  the  English-speaking  popu- 
lation throughout  Bengal,  there  being  very  few  places 
where  enough  persons  can  be  found  to  form  a  basis  for 
such  an  organization  as  we  try  to  effect.  It  is  hoped, 
however,  that  by  adopting  the  old  circuit  system  in 
some  places,  and  slightly  modifying  our  usual  policy 
in  some  other  places,  we  may  succeed  in  widely  ex- 
tending our  work  in  different  parts  of  Bengal. 

In  Calcutta  we  have  four  separate  appointments  : 
one  for  Europeans,  one  for  Bengalees,  and  two  for 
seamen. 

The  English  Church  necessarily  occupies  the  most 
prominent  position,  and  from  the  nature  of  the  case 
largely  affects  the  whole  work  of  our  Church  in  Cal- 
cutta. While  we  may  maintain  separate  organizations 
in  various  parts  of  the  city,  it  will  probably  not  be  pos- 
sible to  give  the  original  Church,  the  mother  of  them 
all,  a  secondary  place  until  the  Bengalee  converts  begin 
to  be  converted  by  the  thousand.  This  is  as  it  should 
be.  The  best  possible  purpose  which  a  powerful  En- 
glish Church  can  serve  in  a  great  Indian  city,  is  to 
foster  the  interests  of  all  the  missionary  organizations 
which  may  grow  up  around  it. 

During  the  past  year  Brother  Oakes  has  worked 
faithfully  and  unremittingly  as  pastor  of  this  Church, 
and  not  without  frequent  tokens  of  Divine  approval. 
The  attendance  at  Sunday  services  has  been  good,  con- 
versions have  been  frequent,  and  the  finances  have 
improved.  The  remaining  debt  on  the  church  building 
will,  it  is  hoped,  be  paid  during  the  ensuing  year. 
Members  of  this  congregation  have  rendered  very 
efficient  help  in  the  seamen's  work,  and  also  in  the  work 


182  SELF-SuPPORTIN^a    MlSSIOJS"S. 

among  the  natives  of  the  city  and  suburbs.  Plans  have 
been  formed  for  greatly  increased  activity  next  year, 
and  it  is  hoped  that  a  very  great  advance  will  be  wit- 
nessed in  all  the  interests  of  this  Church  before  our  next 
Conference. 

The  Bengalee  Church  in  Calcutta  comprises  about 
a  hundred  members  and  probationers,  nearly  all  of 
whom  are  poor.  They  are  divided  into  five  classes,  and 
when  the  weather  is  favorable  attend  the  fellowship 
meetings  more  faithfully  than  their  English-speaking 
brethren.  They  have  done  very  well  in  the  matter  of 
self-support.  During  the  last  three  months  of  the  year 
they  paid  the  claim  of  their  pastor  in  full,  and  there  is 
good  reason  to  hope  that  they  will  at  an  early  day 
become  a  wholly  self-supporting  Church. 

In  the  district  south  of  Calcutta  many  thousands  of 
Bengalee  Christians  are  found  belonging  to  the  Bap- 
tist, Anglican,  and  Roman  Catholic  Churches.  There 
have,  from  time  to  time,  been  many  dissensions  among 
these  people,  and  changes  of  Church  relationship,  and 
in  the  course  of  years  not  a  few  of  the  people  have 
drifted  away  from  all  Church  membership.  Some 
years  ago  some  of  these  villagers,  having  come  to  Cal- 
cutta for  employment,  were  led  to  attend  our  meetings, 
and,  having  been  blessed  in  doing  so,  carried  back  a  good 
report  of  us  to  their  friends  in  the  country.  The  result 
was  that  we  received  many  invitations  to  send  preach- 
ers to  various  points,  but  it  required  the  greatest  wis- 
dom to  determine  when  to  respond  to,  and  when  to 
decline,  such  invitations.  In  some  cases  the  motive  was 
apparently  good,  but  in  others  it  was  quickly  discov- 
ered that  help  in  a  local  quarrel,  or  worldly  profit  in  some 


South  Iot)Ia  Conference.  183 

form,  was  the  ulterior  object  in  view,  and  hence  it  was 
long  before  we  could  confidently  and  energetically 
undertake  any  thing  for  them.  Slowly,  however,  we 
have  organized  societies  in  a  number  of  villages,  until 
now  we  have  a  hundred  or  more  enrolled.  If  a  good, 
thoroughly  devoted,  and  physically  capable,  Bengalee 
preacher  could  be  found  for  this  work,  there  is  every 
reason  to  hope  that  a  very  great  work  could  be  done  in 
that  region,  not  only  among  those  who  are  nominally 
Christians,  but  among  the  heathen  who  are  closely  asso- 
ciated with  them. 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  we  held,  for  the  first  time 
in  Calcutta,  a  series  of  revival  services  conducted  in 
the  Hindustani  language.  The  result  was  very  encour- 
aging, and  it  is  intended  to  hold  regular  services  in 
Hindustani  hereafter.  At  the  close  of  these  meetings 
five  adult  Hindus  were  baptized,  and  three  Roman 
Catholics  received  on  probation.  Seven  adult  Hindus 
were  baptized  during  the  year. 

The  work  among  the  seamen  at  Lai  Bazaar  has  gone 
on  quietly  and  prosperously  throughout  the  year.  Con- 
versions have  taken  place  almost  daily.  Brother  G.  I. 
Stone  and  his  excellent  wife  have  worked  faithfully, 
and  have  seen  their  reward  in  a  steady  ingathering  of 
the  sons  of  the  sea.  If  little  can  be  said  about  this 
work,  it  is  chiefly  because  the  uninterrupted  flow  of  suc- 
cess leaves  little  room  for  special  remark. 

At  Hastings  Rev.  J.  S.  Stone  has  also  done  a  very 
good  work.  A  debt  of  over  3,000  rupees  has  been  paid 
in  full,  and  the  mission  placed  upon  a  healthy  financial 
basis.  The  attendance  at  this  point  has  been,  and  may 
always  be  expected  to  be,  smaller  than  at  Lai  Bazaar, 


184  SELP-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

but  the  field  is  wide  enough  to  repay  abundantly  all 
the  labor  that  is  put  upon  it.  With  the  single  excep- 
tion of  Lai  Bazaar,  it  is  probable  that  more  souls 
have  been  saved  in  connection  with  the  meetings 
at  Hastings,  than  at  any  other  point  in  the  Confer- 
ence. 

At  Rangoon,  Brother  Robinson  has  been  battling 
bravely,  and  begins  to  see  growing  up  around  him  sub- 
stantial results  of  his  labors.  A  large  reduction  has 
been  made  in  the  Church  debt,  and  in  other  respects 
the  finances  of  the  Church  have  materially  improved. 
Both  congregation  and  Sunday-school  are  on  the  in- 
crease, and  very  encouraging  progress  has  been  made 
in  arranging  for  the  opening  of  a  girls'  boarding  and 
day-school.  Earnest  efforts  are  directed  toward  the 
natives  of  various  nationalities,  and  two  adult  Buddhists 
have  recently  been  baptized.  A  great  field  lies  before 
us  at  Rangoon  and  other  ports  on  the  south-eastern 
coast.  As  soon  as  laborers  can  be  found  it  is  proposed 
to  open  work  at  other  points,  and  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  a  rich  harvest  will  be  reaped.  But  re- 
enforcements  are  imperatively  needed  for  the  work  in 
that  direction. 

In  the  entire  district,  we  have  worked  during  the 
past  year  with  but  three  members  of  Conferences  and 
two  preachers  on  trial.  Next  year  we  hope  to  begin 
work  with  four  additional  preachers  on  trial,  and  with 
God's  blessing  we  may  reasonably  anticipate  a  much 
larger  measure  of  success  than  we  have  attained  in 
the  past. 


South  India  Conference.     185 

3.  Allahabad  District. — D.  O^bo-r^is.^  Presiding  Elder, 
The  last  Annual  Conference  recognized  nine  pastoral 
charges  in  this  district ;  and  we  have  to  report  with 
deep  thankfulness  an  encouraging  advance  all  along 
our  line,  from  Lahore  in  the  north  to  Mhow  in  the 
south-west.  Our  preachers  have  all  enjoyed  a  fair 
measure  of  good  health,  and  without  an  exception 
have  done  effective  and  uninterrupted  work  throughout 
the  year.  The  Lord  has  blessed  them  with  a  very 
precious  enjoyment  of  his  love,  and  every-where  we 
have  rejoiced  to  see  tokens  of  a  riper  experience  and 
more  exalted  faith.  We  have  had  opportunity  of  con- 
ferring with  all  of  them  upon  the  practical  details  of 
their  work,  and  throughout  there  has  been  the  fullest 
unanimity  and  resoluteness  in  giving  effect  to  every 
measure  calculated  to  carry  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel 
to  the  benighted  and  needy.  There  has  been  a  general 
recognition  of  the  claims  of  native  work  upon  preachers 
and  people,  and  a  practical  effort  in  some  directions  to 
reach  it.  Th^  material  prosperity  of  the  Churches  has 
furnished  another  cause  for  special  thankfulness ; 
throughout  there  has  been  an  increased  appreciation  of 
the  duty  and  privileges  of  supporting  the  Gospel,  and 
a  disposition  to  foster  and  extend  the  recognized  benev- 
olences of  the  Church. 

We  now  proceed  to  a  more  particular  notice  of  each 
circuit  or  charge,  as  they  stand  upon  the  list  of  appoint- 
ments of  1880-81  : 

ALLAHABAD— W.  F.  G.  CUETIES,  Pastor. 
The  work  of  the  year  has  been  faithfully  done.    The 
regular  services    of    the    Church    have  been   steadily 


186  Self-Supportino  Missions. 

maintained,  and  in  addition  to  these,  smaller  meetings 
in  the  homes  of  the  people,  and  in  other  convenient 
and  needy  localities,  have  been  begun  and  continued. 
Our  staff  of  lay  preachers  have,  as  usual,  given  good  help. 

We  gained  much  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  through 
the  services  held  by  our  beloved  brethren,  Messrs. 
Inskip,  M'Donald,  and  Wood;  and  the  influence  of 
their  earnest  ministry  has  remained  with  the  Church. 

The  Sunday-school  work  has  been  carried  on  as  usual. 
A  weekly  meeting  for  children  and  young  people  has 
been  maintained  almost  throughout  the  year,  with 
encouraging  results. 

A  noteworthy  feature  of  the  year's  work  was  our 
first  camp-meeting  in  Futtehpur,  held  in  March  last. 
The  attendance  was  decidedly  encouraging.  The  spirit 
of  the  meeting  was  excellent,  and  it  is  believed 
that  those  who  attended  were  truly  refreshed  and 
blessed.  The  occasion  proved  a  rare  and  unexpected 
opportunity  for  native  work.  Vast  throngs  of  atten- 
tive hearers,  including  many  influential  and  educated 
gentlemen  of  the  city  and  district,  gathered  daily  to 
hear  the  Gospel  preached  and  sung,  and  it  is  certain 
that  from  this  center  of  blessing  went  forth  far-reach- 
ing influences  for  good. 

At  the  outstations  embraced  within  the  circuit. 
Brother  R.  J,  Young  in  Futtehpur,  and  Brother  G. 
Hart  in  Banda,  local  preachers,  have  steadily  main- 
tained the  form  and  enjoyed  the  power  of  Christian 
worship.  Chunar,  too,  has  been  visited,  and  the  Gos- 
pel proclaimed  to  eager  listeners. 

The  Cannington  Girls'  School,  notwithstanding  un- 
avoidable fluctuations,  has  had  a  successful  year  under 


South  India  Conference.  18V 

tlie  superintendence  of  Miss  M.  B.  Spence.  As  the  insti- 
tution will  be  represented  by  the  Board  of  Education, 
particulars  need  not  here  be  furnished. 

ALLAHABAD  HINDUSTANI  CIRCUIT— D.  OSBORNE,  Bist<yr. 

We  have  not  attempted  to  draw  a  line  of  separation 
between  the  English  and  the  native  work  too  rigidly, 
lest  the  impression  be  fostered  that  the  English-speak- 
ing Church  is  relieved  from  the  responsibility  of  caring 
for  and  engaging  in  that  work.  We  believe  that  the 
tendency  of  organizations  and  efforts  for  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  the  heathen,  separated  from  our  English-speak- 
ing Churches  by  too  distinctive  lines,  is  not  favorable 
to  the  diffusion  of  a  general  missionary  spii'it. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  unexpected 
opening  for  native  work  offered  at  the  Futtehpur  camp- 
meeting,  and  thus  our  work  among  the  heathen  has 
touched  our  general  field  at  frequently  recurring  points. 
Two  local  preachers,  with  helpers,  have  been  regularly 
engaged  in  preaching  in  Hindustani.  In  bazaars,  at 
fairs,  in  the  streets,  they  have  pursued  their  labor  of 
love.  In  the  native  infantry  lines  a  work  of  good 
promise  has  been  steadily,  yet  not  without  opposition, 
maintained  by  Brother  J.  F.  Deatker,  local  preacher. 
We  have  had  some  interesting  cases  of  awakening  and 
inquiry  ;  the  number  baptized  has  been  three. 

An  interesting  and  hopeful  feature  in  this  field  has 
been  our  native  Sunday-school  work.  Five  schools  in 
Allahabad  and  two  in  Futtehpur  have  been  maintained 
for  the  religious  instruction  of  purely  heathen  chil- 
dren. These  have  been  well  attended,  and  afford  prom- 
ise of  ultimate  fruitage. 


188  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention  one  or  two 
incidents  connected  with  our  native  mission  work. 
There  came  to  us  some  time  ago,  as  a  candidate  for 
baptism,  a  Hindu  lad  totally  blind,  but  whose  mind  had 
been  illuminated  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  perceive  his 
need  as  a  sinner.  He  was  instructed,  and  upon  an  intel- 
ligent confession  of  his  faith  in  the  Saviour,  was  bap- 
tized. "Blind  David"  is  to-day  one  of  the  happiest 
and  most  devoted  of  God's  children.  Though  totally 
blind,  such  is  his  wonderful  sagacity,  sharpened  and 
stimulated  no  doubt  by  the  gracious  providence  of  God, 
that  he  is  to  be  found  in  every  meeting  or  religious 
service.  Denied  the  power  of  vision  and  the  many 
enjoyments  dependent  upon  that  faculty  from  childhood, 
David  is  the  most  cheerful  and  happy  of  Christian 
believers.  He  never  tires  of  singing  and  giving  praise 
to  God.  David,  moreover,  is  a  most  active  worker. 
He  can  converse  readily  in  English,  and,  with  bundles 
of  tracts,  goes  forth  upon  his  humble  mission.  A  few 
months  ago  he  conceived  the  desire  of  learning  to  read 
in  the  character  for  the  blind,  and  began  to  pray  for  a 
Gospel  in  this  character.  The  prayer  was  heard,  and 
the  Gospel  received.  Then  David  asked  us  to  pray 
that  the  Lord  might  teach  him  to  read.  This,  too,  has 
been  granted,  and  David  can  read  God's  Word  with 
his  fingers.  His  joy  at  this  acquisition  was  great. 
Blind  David  is  now  out  itinerating.  He  said  to  us  that 
he  would  like  to  go  to  his  own  home  and  kindred  near 
Bandikui,  and  tell  them  what  great  things  the  Lord 
had  done  for  him.  And  so  the  humble  blind  missionary 
is  doing  his  work,  telling  of  Jesus  wherever  he  goes, 
shaming  the  apathy  and   faithlessness  of  those  who, 


South  India  Conference.     189 

with  many  more  talents,  are  content  to  bury  them  un- 
derground and  keep  them  unused. 

The  other  incident  relates  to  a  Brahmin  girl  sixteen 
years  old,  who  came  to  us  a  year  ago  and  besought  us 
to  save  her  from  a  life  of  sin  and  sorrow.  We  did  not 
know  her  history,  but  her  manner  prepossessed  us,  and 
after  inquiry  we  afforded  her  shelter.  Soon  we  found 
ourselves  in  the  center  of  a  tangled  web  of  legal  com- 
plications. It  turned  out  that  this  poor  girl  had  been 
the  child-wife  of  a  noted  Hindu  priest,  and  one  of  the 
richest  citizens  in  Benares,  and  had  been  deceitfully 
and  cruelly  decoyed  away  from  her  home,  and  sold 
into  the  bondage  of  sin.  The  case  was  traced  step  by 
step  to  its  foul  perpetrators,  and  the  wicked  abductors 
of  the  poor  girl,  with  their  abettors,  were  brought  to 
trial  and  punished.  I  waited  upon  the  husband  of  the 
girl  to  know  his  pleasure  concerning  her.  As  I  ex- 
pected, he  refused  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with  her  ; 
she  was  dead  to  him  forever.  How  I  thanked  God  for 
the  warm-hearted  religion  of  the  Bible,  which  thrusts 
away  none  who  come  to  it  for  shelter !  Jasoda  is  now  in 
one  of  our  mission  asylums,  kindly  and  tenderly  cared  for, 
and,  what  is  better,  sitting  joyfully  at  the  feet  of  Jesus. 

Instances  like  the  foregoing  fill  us  with  thankfulness 
and  hope — thankfulness  that  the  Lord  has  honored  us 
in  plucking  some,  at  least,  from  heathen  bondage,  and 
hope  that  these  tokens  of  favor  may  prove  the  begin- 
ning of  rich  and  abundant  fruitage. 

JUBBULPOEE— M.  Y.  BOVAED,  Pastor. 
The  regular  work  of  this  circuit  has  been  carjried  on 
throughout  the  year.      The  Station  Theater  has  been 


190  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

used  for  the  public  services,  which  have  sustained  their 
interest  uninterruptedly.  In  addition,  meetings  have 
been  held  at  other  centers  with  evident  signs  of  bless- 
ing. One  of  these  visited  by  me  was  a  meeting  of 
educated  native  youths,  who  were  willing  to  hear  the 
Gospel. 

A  prosperous  Sunday-school  is  maintained  in  connec- 
tion with  the  English-speaking  congregation. 

In  the  month  of  August,  in  order  to  supply  the  provi- 
dential opening  in  Mussoorie,  I  moved  Brother  Bovard 
from  Jubbulpore  to  that  charge,  supplying  his  place  by 
the  transfer  of  Brother  W.  Brown  from  Hurda. 

HUKDA  CIRCUIT— W.  BEOWN,  Pastor. 
Brother  Brown  labored  acceptably  in  this  charge 
until  removed  to  Jubbulpore.  Since  then  the  place  has 
been  supplied  from  Khundwa,  and  later  a  local  preacher 
has  been  sent  to  take  up  the  work.  The  society  here  is 
small,  and  the  number,  notwithstanding  some  acces- 
sions, has  been  further  thinned  by  death  and  transfers. 
The  field  is  limited  to  the  railway  community  stationed 
here.  We  have  a  church  and  parsonage  now  all  but 
completed.  Services  are  held  in  the  church,  and 
smaller  meetings  in  the  houses  of  the  people. 

MHOW  AND  KHUNDWA— J.  LYON,  Pastor. 
I  have  pleasure  in  recording  a  year  of  signal  pros- 
perity on  this  circuit.  In  Mhow,  under  the  labors  of 
the  pastor  and  other  devoted  Christian  helpers,  the 
Church  has  enjoyed  almost  constant  refreshing.  Special 
services,  resulting  in  awakenings  and  conversions,  have 
been  frequent.  Being  almost  entirely  a  military  sta- 
tion, there  is  not  the  opportunity  to  effect  so  permanent 


South  India  Conference.     191 

a  Church  organization  as  we  would  desire  ;  still,  all  that 
could  be  done  to  conserve  and  utilize  the  gain  of  the 
year  has  been  done. 

We  have  here  a  neat  and  comfortable  church  edifice, 
which  has  this  year  been  entirely  freed  from  debt. 
Some  material  improvements,  such  as  road  approach  to 
the  church,  railing  and  pulpit,  the  acquisition  of  a  ncAV 
organ  for  public  services,  have  been  effected  through 
the  kind  liberality  of  Christian  friends.  A  healthy  and 
live  Sunday-school  is  maintained,  and  it  is  pleasing  to 
see  the  Christian  activity  manifested  by  some  of  the 
children.  A  Hindustani  Sunday-school  is  also  main- 
tained under  the  care  of  a  brother  warmly  interested  in 
the  native  work. 

The  station  of  Nimach,  on  the  line  of  railway,  has 
been  regularly  visited  by  Brother  Lyon,  and  promises 
to  become  in  time  a  good  center  for  railway  work. 

Khundwa,  although  in  circuit  connection  with  Mhow, 
is  really  a  distinct  charge.  It  has  its  own  meeting- 
house, its  own  pastor,  and  its  own  resources  for  the 
support  of  the  work.  Brother  J.  D.  Webb,  local 
preacher,  has  labored  here  acceptably  through  the 
year. 

There  is  a  neat  little  church,  which  the  brethren 
have  succeeded  in  improving  and  furnishing  very  com- 
fortably. 

Services  are  regularly  held  in  this  place,  and  not- 
withstanding other  counter  services  in  a  limited  com- 
munity, our  brethren  have  received  many  tokens  of 
encouragement. 


192  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

AGKA— A.  C.  GILEUTH,  Pastor. 
This  charge  has  had  altogether  a  prosperous  year. 
Our  field  here  is  narrow  and  scattered,  sparse  patches 
of  verdure  in  a  sea  of  sterility,  and  there  is  need  of 
deep  and  laborious  digging.  By  the  blessing  of  God, 
however,  a  steady  advance  has  been  made.  The  public 
services  in  the  hired  preaching  hall  have  been  regu- 
larly maintained  and  well  attended.  Interesting  meet- 
ings have  been  held  in  the  homes  of  the  people,  and 
a  hopeful  vein  has  been  struck  in  the  old  civil  lines, 
a  poor  and  uncared-for  locality.  A  series  of  special 
services,  held  by  us  a  few  weeks  ago,  were  attended 
with  manifest  encouragement  and  blessing.  A  good 
Sunday-school  is  maintained,  with  a  fair  attendance. 
Brother  Gilruth  has  visited  and  regularly  preached  in 
Toondla,  the  junction  station  fourteen  miles  distant. 
Our  great  want  in  Agra  is  a  permanent  church  building. 
The  rent  already  disbursed  would  have  gone  a  consider- 
able way  to  erect  a  suitable  edifice.  Some  money  col- 
lected six  years  ago  for  this  purpose  remains  on  deposit, 
while  the  idea  of  actually  building  has  become  almost 
fossilized.  We  have  lately  succeeded  in  reviving  at- 
tention to  this  subject,  and  hope  to  see  the  project 
carried  out. 

BANDIKUI— C.  W.  D'SOUZA,  Pastor. 
This  is  a  thriving  railway  community  planted  on  the 
Rajputana  Line.  Our  preacher  is  as  yet  the  only  resi- 
dent minister  here.  Services  have  been  held  in  the 
railway  school-house.  Here  also  a  Sunday-school  is 
held.  Anticipating  the  necessity  before  long  of  our 
own  church  building,  we  have  applied  to  the  railway 


South  India  Conferejs^ce.  193 

authorities  for  land,  and  have  hope  that  our  application 
may  be  successful.  Bandikui  is  a  growing  place,  and 
promises  to  become  the  centre  of  an  important  railway- 
work. 

Brother  D'Souza  has  had  a  good  year,  and  has  ex- 
tended his  work  by  'preaching  visits  to  Phalera  and 
Ajmere  on  the  same  line  of  railway. 

ROOEKEE— W.  BOWSER,  Pastor. 

Here  we  have  a  comfortable  and  pleasant  church 
building,  which  is  the  worshiping  place  of  many  out- 
side of  our  own  denomination.  While  we  are  saved 
here  much  of  the  distress  and  inconvenience  which  at- 
tend our  work  elsewhere,  there  are  difficulties  peculiar 
to  the  position  which  need  to  be  handled  with  tact. 
With  the  fullest  sympathy  and  deference  for  those 
whose  piety  we  respect,  but  who  differ  from  us  in 
questions  of  polity  and  usage,  there  must  be  a  mild  yet 
decided  advance  in  the  direction  of  that  denominational 
distinctness  which  constitutes  our  strength  as  a  Church. 
Brother  Bowser  has  had  a  pleasant,  and,  on  the  whole, 
a  successful  year.  He  has  done  this  constructive  work 
with  patience  and  prudence.  The  public  services  have 
been  well  attended.  A  healthy  Sunday-school  has  been 
organized.  There  is  also  a  Hindustani  Sunday-school, 
and  efforts  are  being  made  to  extend  mission  opera- 
tions. 

LAHORE— J.  SHAW,  Pastor. 

James  Shaw,  "my  Irisli  Trooper,"  was  my 
first  candidate  for  our  itinerant  ministry  in 
India.     He  served  effectively  in  the  work  in 


194  Self-Supportiistg  Missions. 

Bombay,  Secunderabad,  Bangalore,  and  Mad- 
ras, and  was  sent  by  appointment  of  Bishop 
Merrill,  witli  a  wife  and  six  children,  over 
two  thousand  miles,  to  begin  in  the  jungle 
at  Lahore.  He  was  a  volunteer  for  that  diffi- 
cult post. 

The  last  Annual  Conference  resolved  upon  the  long- 
cherished  yet  long-deferred  step  of  planting  a  Method- 
ist Church  in  the  chief  city  of  the  Punjab,  the  spirit- 
ual needs  of  which  had  been  often  represented.  Al- 
though appointed  in  December  last,  Brother  Shaw  was 
detained  in  Madras  for  nearly  two  months.  On  the 
23d  of  February  Brother  Shaw  and  myself  reached 
Lahore,  and  without  delay  began  services  both  in  the 
civil  station  (Anarkali)  and  among  the  railway  com- 
munity. These  services  were  greatly  blessed  of  God, 
and  so  rapid  was  the  progress  of  the  work,  that  on 
Sunday,  27th,  we  were  enabled  to  organize  a  church 
membership  of  twenty,  and  a  Sunday-school  of  forty 
children.  The  services  were  continued  with  increasing 
interest  until  March  3d,  on  which  date  we  organized 
the  first  quarterly  conference  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  in  Lahore. 

Since  then  the  work  has  been  faithfully  prosecuted. 
Public  services  have  been  held  in  a  hired  room  in 
Anarkali,  in  the  Railway  Theatre,  and  in  the  regiment- 
al prayer-room  in  Meean  Meer.  Just  as  the  season's 
work  was  getting  fully  under  way,  the  excessive  heat 
of  the  weather  thinned  out  the  community  to  a  degree 
which  seriously  affected  our  congregations,  and  a  dread- 


South  India  Conference.     195 

ful  epidemic  swept  down  upon  the  city  and  canton- 
ments. The  European  troops  removed  into  camp,  while 
the  civil  community  scattered  wherever  they  might 
escape  the  excessive  heat  and  ravaging  pestilence. 

This  seriously  affected  our  work  ;  but  it  is  gratify- 
ing to  record  the  fact  that  throughout  this  trying  sea- 
eon  the  kind  care  of  our  people  supplied  the  wants  of 
the  Church  and  the  pastor.  Returning  health  and 
pleasant  weather  have  repaired  these  wastes  to  a  large 
degree,  and  our  brethren  in  Lahore  have  a  successful 
campaign  before  them.  During  my  last  visit  there  we 
had  services  in  a  large  marquee,  pitched  in  one  of  the 
most  public  spots,  and  both  the  gathering  and  the  results 
of  the  services  showed  that  the  labors  of  the  pastor 
throughout  the  previous  months  had  not  been  in 
vain. 

Our  want  here,  as  in  other  places,  is  a  suitable  church 
edifice,  and  I  am  glad  to  report  that  we  have  strong 
hope  of  getting  a  good  building  site.  Brother  Shaw 
has  already  met  with  encouragement  in  the  collection 
of  funds,  and  I  believe  that,  should  the  site  be  given, 
we  shall  not  be  long  without  a  comfortable  worshiping 
place. 

This  completes  a  survey  of  the  regular  appomtments 
of  the  district.  Openings  for  work  have  providentially 
occurred  in  other  stations,  of  which  a  brief  notice  will 
doubtless  be  of  interest. 

MUSSOOEIE. 
Declining  an  invitation  to  visit  the  station,  made  to 
us  in  June,  we  were,  two  months  later,  forced  to  seek 
a  change  there  for  the  benefit  of  a  sick  child.     Some 


196  SELF-SuppoRTma  Missions. 

meetings  held  in  a  private  house  grew  so  rapidly  as  to 
necessitate  removal  into  the  public  Municipal  Hall.  The 
result  was  a  general  request  for  an  effective  church 
organization,  and  the  appointment  of  a  pastor.  Such 
a  request,  with  our  own  conviction  that  there  was  vital 
need  in  a  vast  community  like  that  of  Mussooiie  and 
Landour  for  an  aggressive  soul-saving  work,  could 
not  be  set  aside.  A  church  organization  was  accord- 
ingly effected,  and  I  moved  Brother  M.  Y.  Bovard  to 
take  charge  of  the  new  work.  He  arrived  before  I  left 
the  hills,  and,  on  the  14th  of  August,  the  Quarterly 
Conference  was  organized,  and  regular  work  started. 
Brother  Bovard  has  had  three  months  of  hard  yet  suc- 
cessful work.  Our  public  services  have  been  well  at- 
tended, and  a  thriving  Sunday-school  maintained.  Fore- 
seeing our  great  need  to  be  a  church  edifice,  we  took 
early  steps  to  secure  a  good  building  site,  and  negotia- 
tions are  now  being  consummated  for  a  piece  of  land 
which  will  be  convenient  both  to  the  residents  of  Mus- 
soorie  and  Landour. 

MEEEUT. 
This  mission  was  visited  by  me  so  long  ago  as  1875, 
and  a  work  organized.  In  the  Conference  appointments 
of  1876,  the  Rev.  G.  K.  Gilder  was  actually  appointed 
to  this  charge  ;  but,  in  consequence  of  broken  health, 
was  unable  to  join  the  appointment.  The  work  being 
unsupplied,  gradually  decayed  and  died  out.  Now 
Meerut  again  opens  its  door  to  a  Methodist  ministry. 
I  visited  the  station  and  preached  there  during  my  late 
tour,  and  found  a  providential  opening  awaiting  us. 
The  station  has  a  fair  civil  community,  with  a  large 


South  India  Conference.     197 

military  garrison,  which  I  understand  is  to  be  greatly 
increased  by  recent  orders. 

4.  Madras  District. 
No  report  received  for  publication. 


FRATERNAL  LETTER 
From  Rev.  E.  W.  Parker,  North  India  Conference. 

Shajehanpore,  October  28,  1881. 

Dear  President  and  Brethren  of  the  South  India 
Conference  : 

I  am  only  "  alternate  "  fraternal  delegate  to  your  Con- 
ference, but  fraternal  feeling  inclines  me  to  write  you, 
as  I  cannot  be  present  with  you.  We  should  keep  up 
our  acquaintance  with  each  other  and  with  each  other's 
work,  that  we  may  the  more  intelligently  pray  for  and 
help  each  other.  We  were  very  glad  that  your  dele- 
gate visited  us  last  winter,  and  we  were  sorry  that  he 
could  not  remain  and  visit  some  of  our  stations  and  see 
more  of  our  work.  We  always  rejoice  in  your  pros- 
perity and  are  sad  when  difficulties  arise  to  hinder,  or 
seemingly  to  hinder,  your  work.  I  am  now  at  our 
camp-meeting  at  Shajehanpore.  There  are  about  nine 
hundred  people  on  the  ground,  and  we  are  having  grand 
meetings.  Our  preachers  are  all  receiving  blessings  of 
new  power,  and  last  evening  a  large  number  of  boys 
and  girls  and  young  men  arose  for  prayers.  It  was  a 
season  of  especial  power.  This  morning  again  we  had 
a  good  time.  The  children  broke  out  and  prayed 
earnestly  for  themselves.  At  twelve  we  have  all 
kinds  of  meetings — for  boys,  girls,  women,  preachers, 


198  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

laymen,  etc.,  etc.,  so  as  to  get  all  at  work.  The  tent 
that  a  few  years  ago  seemed  a  great  empty  barn,  after 
all  our  people  were  seated,  is  now  three  times  as  large 
as  at  first,  and  is  packed  in  every  part  at  every  meet- 
ing, nearly  all  sitting  on  mats. 

Nothing  shows  our  real  growth  more  than  is  seen 
in  our  native  preachers.  When  one  of  the  young  men 
sat  down  after  preaching  a  clear  gospel  sermon  last 
evening,  Brother  M'Grew  remarked  to  some  one  near, 
that  *'  When  we  have  150  such  men  as  that,  we  may  all 
go  home."  God  is  giving  us  such  very  fast.  We  will 
have  several  ready  for  Conference  this  year,  and  more 
are  coming  on  rapidly.  These  extra  meetings  give  a 
preacher  a  new  start  every  time.  We  have  now  ten 
native  preachers  in  charge  of  large  circuits,  and  I  pre- 
sume that  we  shall  appoint  a  native  Presiding  Elder 
this  coming  Conference.  In  every  case  these  preachers 
in  charge  have  done  well.  We  have,  of  course,  a  host 
more  working  as  supplies.  Our  class  of  young  men  for 
the  Theological  School  bids  fair  to  be  the  best  we  ever 
had.     So  we  are  growing. 

There  are  very  interesting  openings  in  our  work  that 
must  yield  abundant  fruit.  We  have  an  excellent 
opening  into  one  class,  and  at  many  points  we  have 
converts.  Several  of  the  religious  teachers  of  the  class 
are  Christians,  and  many  are  inquirers.  The  Byragis, 
who  are  in  some  districts  nearly  all  inquirers,  are  the 
gurus  of  a  part  of  this  class  referred  to.  Other  leaders 
are  also  inquirers,  and  every- where  in  this  class  the  re- 
ligion of  Jesus  is  discussed.  There  are  some  500,000 
of  them  in  the  districts  where  this  work  is  going  on, 
and  if  we  are  faithful  we  must  soon  see  fruit  in  abun- 


South  India  Conference.  199 

dance.  Every  year  now  some  are  being  baptized  from 
this  class,  and  our  circle  of  influence  is  gradually  but 
surely  widening.  •When  I  came  to  India  I  believed 
that  our  mission  work  would  yield  fruit,  and  yield  it 
soon,  but  I  thought  of  a  church,  or  a  circuit  with  a  few 
churches,  being  saved.  After  ten  years'  experience  I 
thought  I  would  live  to  see  10,000  members  in  our 
Church,  if  I  could  complete  forty  years  in  our  work. 
Now,  however,  I  expect  to  live  to  see  100,000  Chris- 
tians in  this  field  which  is  now  the  Rohilcund  District, 
and  also  a  grand  work  in  Oudh  and  Kumaon.  Our 
openings  must  lead  to  glorious  results  if  we  are  faith- 
ful. Our  great  hope  is  in  our  native  preachers.  They 
are  growing  to  be  grand  men  and  grand  workers. 

One  very  encouraging  feature  of  the  work  among  the 
inquirers  is  the  desire  to  have  the  children  taught.  We 
have  calls  for  scores  of  little  schools,  of  about  twenty 
boys  each,  for  inquirers.  Each  school  is  a  center  for 
preaching  work,  for  prayer-meetings,  etc.,  and  many  of 
them  will  prove  the  beginnings  of  churches.  Thus  our 
schools  will  soon  be  mostly  for  inquirers  and  native 
Christian  children.  Our  Sunday-schools  are  also  very 
successful.  We  shall  report  a  large  increase  in  this 
department  this  year  in  some  of  our  circuits.  Budaon 
has  over  2,000  pupils  as  an  average. 

We  believe  that  there  are  promising  fields  ready  for 
you  in  the  South  also,  and  we  pray  earnestly  for  your 
success.  May  not  God  design  to  reach  the  English- 
speaking  natives  through  you,  and  thus  reach  all 
India?  A  work  among  the  English-speaking  natives 
of  India  would  move  India  as  it  has  never  yet  been 
moved.      We  are  getting  hold  and  shaking  the  lower 


200  Self-Suppokting  Missions. 

strata  of  society,  and  if  you  will  shake  from  the  top, 
we  will  soon  make  the  old  systems  tremble  and  fall. 

I  hope  that  our  union  Conference,  which  is  now  a 
reality,  will  prove  acceptable  to  all  in  both  Confer- 
ences, and  that  we  shall  make  our  entire  India  work  a 
grand  success.  We  hope  that  you  will  send  a  fra- 
ternal delegate  to  us  again  this  year.  Our  Conference 
will  meet  at  Moradabad.  The  date  is  not  fixed.  Pray 
for  us  and  our  work. 

Later. — One  day  more  of  meetings.  Last  evening, 
and  yesterday  during  the  day,  God  poured  out  his 
Spirit  abundantly.  Many  were  converted.  To-day  the 
conviction  is  on  the  preachers  to  seek  for  more  power, 
and  a  deeper,  more  constant  purity.  This  morning's 
meeting  was  one  of  heart  searching.  We  have  laid 
aside  all  preaching  for  to-day  and  are  going  to  talk 
and  exhort  and  pray.  There  are  times  when  preaching 
seems  out  of  place  and  in  the  way.  We  felt  this  so 
much  this  morning  that  we  put  aside  the  preaching  for 
the  entire  day.  Brethren,  ours  is  a  grand  religion,  a 
grand  work,  and  by  and  by  we  shall  have  a  glorious 
rest  and  home.  My  soul  seldom  turns  toward  the  home 
in  these  days,  as  the  work  is  so  grand,  and  my  soul 
loves  it  so  much,  that  it  finds  its  rest  in  this  work. 
India  must  be  redeemed.  Are  we  ready?  God  is 
ready.      We  will  go  with  him.         Your  Brother, 

PARKER. 

The  Union  Conference,  referred  to  by  Brotlier 
Parker,  is  a  new  departure,  About  three  years 
ago  the  British  India  Governnient  passed  a 
law  for  the  incorporation  of  Indiana  Churches, 


South  Iis^dia  Conference.  201 

under  whicli  tliey  could  legally  hold  church 
property.  Churches  of  other  countries,  their 
missionary  societies,  or  branch  organizations  in 
India,  are  not  singly,  nor  collectively,  Indian 
Churches.  The  missionary  societies  have  no 
legal  title  to  property  outside  of  the  country  to 
which  they  belong  that  would  stand  the  scru- 
tiny of  the  law  courts  of  any  country.  Mr. 
Wesley  solved  a  similar  problem  in  his  own 
country  by  organizing  his  "Legal  Hundred." 
All  the  church  property  of  the  Wesley  an  Meth- 
odists of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
is  held  by  the  Legal  Hundred  to  this  day. 

Prior  to  the  passage  of  this  law  in  India,  the 
missionary  societies  could  have  made  a  good 
plea  on  the  equities  of  English  Common  Law^ 
but  now  that  this  special  law  has  been  enacted, 
the  validity  of  such  a  plea  would'  be  one  of  the 
embarrassing  factors  in  the  suit. 

So,  for  the  security  of  our  Church  property  in 
India,  and  for  the  more  effective  concert  of  ac- 
tion in  the  prosecution  of  their  great  work  in 
India,  our  two  India  Conferences,  at  their  an- 
nual sessions  in  1879,  mutually  resolved,  at 
their  next  session,  to  elect  delegates  to  meet  in 
July,  1881,  to  organize  a  "Delegated  India 
Conference ;     such   an    organization  as  would 


202  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

enable  them  to  avail  themselves  of  the  pro- 
visions of  said  law  of  incorporation  and  yet  not 
disturb  their  harmonious  relation  to  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  of  the  United  States  of 
America.  They  further  resolved  to  petition 
the  General  Conference  to  concur  in  their  plan 
or  submit  a  better  one. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  1880  their 
Committee  on  Missions  discussed  this  question 
of  a  Delegated  Conference  in  India,  and  recom- 
mended the  General  Conference  to  concur  in 
the  proposal  submitted  to  them,  but  some  of 
our  high  officials  seemed  to  think  there  might 
be  a  cat  of  secession  "  under  the  meal,"  and  the 
matter  was  laid  on  the  table. 

The  two  Conferences,  however,  elected  their 
delegates  at  the  time  appointed,  and  in  July, 
1881,  they  assembled  and  organized  a  "Dele- 
gated Conference,"  but  to  "  avoid  the  very  ap- 
pearance of  evil,"  they  changed  the  name  and 
labeled  their  new  organization.  The  Central 
Committee  of  India  Methodism.  Among  other 
acts  of  their  first  session,  they  resolved  to  unite 
the  publishing  interests  of  the  two  Conferences, 
and  to  transfer  the  Book  Concern  at  Lucknow 
to  Allahabad,  in  the  bounds  of  the  South  India 
Conference. 


South  India  Conference.  203 

Brother  Craven,  tlie  Publisliing  Agent  of 
this  Concern,  is  now  on  a  furlough  to  the 
United  States,  and  hopes  to  find  some  liberal 
friends  to  put  their  India  Book  Concern  on  a 
more  solid  basis.  He  is  a  grand  man  of  God 
and  a  faithful  Methodist  minister,  and  every 
way  worthy  of  the  confidence  and  patronage 
of  our  people. 


STATISTICS  FOR  SOUTH 


Membership 

Bap- 

•   tisms. 

Church  Property. 

CiBCDrrs  AND  Stations. 

a 
.2 

O 

i 

3 

1 

i 

a. 

9  . 
5. 
2 

1  . 
1 

"3 ; 
21 

1 

1 . 
1 . 

..1. 

2 

1. 

io| ' 

2 
1  . 

'2' 
2. 

5 

2. 
1  . 
2. 
2. 
1  . 
2 
2. 

i 
■B 

a. 
3   § 

•1 

< 

5 
5 

d 

3 
> 

1 
2 

to 

1 

C 

c 

0 

d 
Z 

"i 

i 
1 

3 

1 

*i 

3 

'a 
> 

1 

11 

ill 

it 
Is 

III 
III 

Bombay  District. 

70 
3 
3 

12 
8 
4 
6 
5 

111 

.? 

19 
i2 

i 

10 

31 

31 
43:3 

14 

4 

1 
16 

3 

1 
17 

2 

182 
89 
30 
10 
32 
9 
8 
10 

370 

100 
56 
911 
12 
1 
28 
33 
29 

310 

249 
54 
8 
86 
36 

43:3 

98 
15 
6 

i 

15 
17 

18 

.      12 
.       5 

1  4 
.       3 

'    t 

.       5 
1 

3     42 

2  7 
7 
4 

7 

I      '.'. 
4 
4 
7 

J     40 

1  21 

'i 

2  12 

9 

3  "Is 

'2 

'6 

8 

i 

■3 
4 

1 
4 

14 

1 
1 
1 

'i 
1 
1 

6 

1 
2 
1 
1 

"i 
1 

7 

1 

'i 
1 

1 

4 

33.000 
6,600 
4,500 

70( 
5,600 
3,500 

3,256 

166 
2,400 

140 
180 
257 

50 

6,800 

6.200 

Total 

53,900 

5.750 

627 

6,800 

6,200 

Madras  District. 
Madras  •   Vepery              .... 

10,000 
4,050 
6,000 

13,370 

5.066 
14,000 

10,000 
8,066 

100 
362 
323 
155 

2,166 

2,000 

692 
1,450 

9.000 

600 
4,480 

Blktw'n  and  Perarabore 

Bangalore  :  Richmond  Town . 
St   John's  Hill         

Tamil  Circuit 

Bellaiy...     

Chadarghat 

Secunderabad  

Telugu  Mission 

Total    

52,420 

2 

18,000 

3,040 

4,142 

14,080 

Calcutta  District. 

Calcutta :  Dhurrumtolla 

Lai  Bazaar    

80,000 
22,066 

IS 

'i 

1 

1 
i 

2 

7,066 

90 

200 
1,206 

2,500 
3,236 
3,066 

18.000 
5,066 

Hastings 

Bengali 

Rangoon 

Total 

131.000 

7.000 

1,496 

8,736 

23,000 

Atj.ahabad  District. 
Allahabad 

2     10 
.       3 
2 
1 
.       3 
.       3 
2       4 

4 

'i 

1 

i 

2 

i 

25,000 

4,066 
6,700 

2,606 

3,000 

200 

Mi 

80 

4,000 

si? 

8,000 
806 

Jubbulpore 

Hnrda 

Total 

58 

685 
686 

"i 

212 

1,355 
1,335 

20 

17 

551 

46  3 

9  . 
..  1 

4  26 

6    151 

5  155 

5 

31 
30 

5 

22 
22 

38,300 

3,000 

4,155 

4,317 

8.850 

Grand  Totals  this  year.. 
"          "       last  year.. 

275.620 
239,3-20 

8 
9 

"i 

33,750 
36,.950 

93I8 
21,141 

23,995 
9,291 

52,130 
67,010 

Increase 

Decrease 

9      "4 

1 

36,300 

3.266 

11,823 

14,704 

14,886 

>  These  fiRures  indicate  Rupees,  about  half  a  dollar  each  In  value. 


INDIA  CONFERENCE. 


Sunday- 
Schools. 

Benevolent  Coi.t.kctions. 

JIlNIST'L 

Sdpport. 

h 

it 

For  Missions. 

II 

1 

1 

1 

c 

'c 

02 

1 

C 

■S.S 
II 

c.'H 

c 

.£ 

1 

D 

u 

•— 

It 

u 

I." 

1 

a 

5 

11 

k 

11 

J? 

1 

o 

1 

m 

Si 

s 

i 

i 

1 

1 

1 

li'i 

8 

1 
1 
1 
J 
1 
1 
1 

30 
It 

I 

10 
2 
1 
3 

131 
13:3 

24 
10 
74 
20 
3 
5 

103 

io 
is 

29 
14 

29 
117 

io 
is 

•• 

49 

49 

50 
125 

25 
90 

4,909 

2,000 

1,900 

455 

679 

1,096 

37 

689 

ii 
10 

1,363 
990 
123 
53 
512 
130 
267 

10 

67 

400 

128     43 

171 

49 

49 

195 

11,965 

21 

3,348 

1 
1 
1 
1 

1 

1 
1 

18 
16 
15 
9 
5 
5 
9 
12 

12f 
115 
162 
80 
100 
41 
45 
70 

733 

12 
13 

40 
25 

~90 

■■ 

io 

i2 

13 

io 

40 
25 

•  • 

'8 

129 
166 

46 

1,800 

1,121 

1,253 

800 

680 

473 

1360 

825 

800 

;; 

ii 

290 

298 

106 
534 
248 

8 

10 

100 

.. 

•• 

.. 

8 

269 

9,612 

2.233 

1 
1 

27 

6 
14 

230 

166 
116 

1^79 

1,279 

35 

23 

1^600 

52 
574 

4.5no 

2,794 
500 
396 

2.669 

61 

4,150 
15,150 
1,200 

390 

5 

47 

446 

1,279 

1,279 

.. 

: 

35 

.. 

23 

2.2-26 

10,859 

61 

20,890 

8 

30 
5 
2 

8 
4 
8 
5 
6 

271 
285 

420 
55 

oi' 
22 
29 
30 
50 

665 

2,244 
2,434 

43 

1 
5 
10 

27 

60 
1 
13 

■3 

93 
2 
18 
10 
30 

:; 

■'• 

;; 

360 
57 

545 

ISO 

2,055 

1^16 

50 

1,132 

331 
1,076 
1,140 

260 

1,126 

270 
483 
205 
184 
15 

18 

86 

67 

153 

.. 

1.112 

7,360 

2,415 

41 
44 

1.583 
1,016 

120 

9ti 

1,703 
1,112 

•• 

84 

80 

3.802 
2,251 

39,796 
31.605 

82 

g^ 

'3 

i4 

190 

567 

24 

591      ..      .. 

84 

;; 

80 

1,551 

8,191 

84 

7,956 

206  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

APPOINTMENTS. 

Bombay  and  Madras  District,  D.  O.  Fox,  P.  E. 
Bombay,  Grant  Road,  J.  A.  Northrup.  Bombay, 
Fort,  supplied  by  local  preachers.  Bombay,  Mazagon, 
W.  H.  Stephens.  Bombay,  Maratti  Circuit,  George 
Bowen.  Poona  and  Lanowlee,  O.  Shreves.  Egutpoora 
and  Thakkur  Mission,  A.  G.  Frazer  and  W.  H.  Bruere. 
Bhosawal,  G.  H.  Greenig.  Nagpore,  T.  E.  F.  Morton. 
Ahmedabad  Circuit,  A.  H.  Baker.  Poona  School,  W. 
E.  Robbins  and  A.  S.  E.  Vardon.  Agent  Methodist 
Book  Depository  at  Bombay,  J.  A.  Northrup.  Madras, 
Yepery  and  Perambore,  T.  H.  Oakes  and  W.  B.  Osborn. 
Madras,  Blacktown,  J.  Blackstock.  Bangalore,  Rich- 
mond Town,  C.  W.  Christian.  Bangalore,  Memorial 
Church,  D.  H.  Lee.  Bangalore,  Tamil  Circuit,  I.  A. 
Richards  and  B.  Peters.  Bellary  and  Railway  Line, 
W.  A.  Moore.  Chadarghat,  R.  E.  Carter.  Secunder- 
abad,  F.  G.  Davis.  Telugu  Mission,  C.  B.  Ward, 
D.  O,  Ernsberger.  Colar  Mission,  S.  P.  Jacobs.  Ban- 
galore School,  I.  A.  Richards.  Conoor,  I.  F.  Row. 
Superannuated,  W.  E.  Newlon. 

Calcutta  District,  J.  M.  Thoburn,  P.  E.  Calcutta, 
English  Church,  J.  M.  Thoburn  and  J.  S.  Stone.  Cal- 
cutta, Bengali  Circuit,  Prosunno  Koomar  Nath.  Sea- 
men's  Work,  Lai  Bazaar,  G.  I.  Stone,  Yernon  E. 
Bennett.  SeamerHs  Work,  Hastings,  L.  R.  Janney. 
Jamalpore  Circuit,  W.  A.  Thomas.  Saidpore,  J.  P. 
Meik.  Rangoon,  J.  E.  Robinson.  Rangoon,  Seamen's 
Mission,  H.  Jacobsen.* 

*  Sent  out  to  India  from  the  North  Indiana  Conference  in  May,  1882. 


South  India  Confeeence.  207 

Allahabad  District,  D.  Osborne,  P.  E.  ARaha- 
had,  D.  Osborne.  Jubhulpore,  W.  D.  Brown.  Hurda, 
to  be  supplied.  Khandwa,  J.  D.  Webb.  Mhow  Circuit, 
C.  W.  D'Souza.  Agray  W.  F.  G.  Curties.  JSandikui, 
M.  B.  Kirk.  3Ieerut,  G.  K.  Gilder.  JRoorkee,  W.  Bow- 
ser. Muasoorie,  James  Lyon.  Lahore,  James  Shaw. 
Kurrachee,  M.  Y.  Bovard.  William  Taylor,  Confer- 
ence Agent. 

Lay  Missionaries.  C.  A.  Martin,  Principal,  J.  A. 
Wilson,  Assistant,  Calcutta  Boys'  School.  Miss  M.  E. 
Layton,  Preceptress,  Calcutta  Girls'  School.  Miss  M.  B. 
Spence,  Preceptress,  Cannington  Girls'  School,  Allaha- 
bad. Miss  E.  H.  Warner,  Preceptress,  Rangoon  Girls' 
School. 


208  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 


XIV. 

SCHOOL-WORK  OF  SOUTH  INDIA 
CONFERENCE. 

"We  have  had  from  the  beginning  in  our  leading 
cities  native  schools  taught  two  hours  per  day — from 
7  to  9  A.  M.  —  by  voluntary  unpaid  teachers.  Thus 
hundreds  of  poor  heathen  children  are  taught  to  read 
God's  word.  I  will  here  simply  insert  the  Report 
OF  THE  Board  of  Education,  adopted  at  the  sixth 
annual  session  of  the  Conference. 

1.  Allahabad. 
The  Cannington  Girls'  School,  at  Allahabad,  has  en- 
joyed a  year  of  prosperity  under  the  efficient  super- 
intendence of  Miss  Spence.  A  large  and  more  eligible 
building  was  rented  early  in  the  year,  and  the  attend- 
ance has  risen  to  a  monthly  average  of  seventy.  The 
average  monthly  income  is  255  rupees.  If  a  grant-in- 
aid,  which  has  been  asked  for,  should  be  obtained,  this 
school  will  be  placed  upon  a  solid  foundation,  and  no 
doubt  will  prosper  still  more  in  the  future.  But  it  is 
very  desirable  that  this,  and  all  similar  schools,  should 
be  provided  with  a  building  of  its  own  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. The  rent  paid  rapidly  eats  up  the  income,  while 
the  idea  of  permanency  which  belongs  to  a  school 
which  owns  its  own  home  does  very  much  to  commend 
it  to  the  confidence  of  patrons. 


South  India  Conference.     209 

"^  2.  Bangalore. 

The  school  at  this  place,  under  the  charge  of  the 
Rev.  I.  A.  Richards,  has  enjoyed  a  year  of  quiet  useful- 
ness, with  steadily  improving  prospects.  At  the  last 
session  of  our  Conference  the  results  of  the  Government 
examinations  had  not  been  announced.  These  results 
were,  on  the  whole,  satisfactory.  One  of  the  pupils 
sent  up  to  the  middle-school  examination  stood  at  the 
head  of  all  competitors  in  the  presidency.  The  total 
number  of  pupils  enrolled  this  year  has  been  one  hun- 
dred, of  whom  eighty  are  in  attendance  at  present. 
The  present  number  of  boarders  is  nine.  A  generous 
donation  of  three  thousand  dollars  from  Father  Bald- 
win, of  Berea,  Ohio,  has  enabled  the  principal  to  pur- 
chase part  of  the  buildings  now  occupied  by  the  school, 
and  it  is  hoped  that  the  remaining  buildings  may  also 
be  purchased  during  the  coming  year.  With  addition- 
al buildings,  and  an  increase  to  the  staff  of  teachers, 
this  school  has  an  assured  future  of  usefulness  and  pros- 
perity before  it.  We  strongly  recommend  an  immedi- 
ate and  earnest  effort  to  add  at  least  six  thousand 
rupees  to  the  funds  of  the  school,  and  the  employment 
of  two  additional  teachers. 

3.  Bombay. 

The  school  at  Mazagon,  under  the  management  of 

the  Rev.  W.  H.  Stephens,  has  done  a  year's  good  work. 

The  present  number  of  pupils  is  seventy,  with  three 

teachers   employed.     The  number  of  boys  enrolled  is 

forty-five,  and  of  girls  twenty-five.     The  sole  financial 

resource  of  the  school  is  the  fees  paid  by  the  pupils, 

and  as  the  charges  are  extremely  moderate  the  expendi- 
14 


210  Self-Supporthstg  Missiotts. 

ture  is  necessarily  very  low.  It  will  be  impossible  to 
build  up  a  strong  or  permanent  institution  on  the  pres- 
ent basis,  but  the  school  is  doing  an  excellent  work,  and 
maintains  a  very  good  reputation  among  those  ac- 
quainted with  its  operations.  It  is  to  be  desired,  how- 
ever, that  a  school  having  so  large  an  attendance,  and 
doing  so  good  a  work,  might  be  placed  on  a  footing  of 
greater  permanency,  and  be  equipped  for  doing  even 
better  work  than  at  present. 

4.  Calcutta. 

The  two  schools  in  Calcutta  have  not  materially 
changed  during  the  past  year.  The  Calcutta  Girls' 
School  retains  the  same  relation  to  our  Church  as  for- 
merly, and  fully  meets  the  wants  of  our  people  without 
compromising  its  character  as  an  unsectarian  school. 
The  attendance  has  been  equal  to  the  full  capacity  of 
the  buildings,  and  the  necessity  for  additional  accom- 
modation has  become  very  urgent.  Miss  Lay  ton  has 
been  ably  seconded  by  an  efficient  staff  of  teachers,  and 
has  fully  maintained  the  high  character  of  this  school. 
"We  are  glad  to  learn  that  active  measures  have  been 
inaugurated  looking  to  the  erection  of  new  buildings 
for  the  institution,  and  it  is  hoped  that  before  the  close 
of  the  ensuing  year  we  may  be  able  to  report  substan- 
tial progress  in  this  work.  With  larger  and  more 
eligible  buildings  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
the  usefulness  of  the  school  could  be  doubled,  without 
very  largely  increasing  the  present  scale  of  expendi- 
ture. 

The  Calcutta  Boys'  School  closes  the  year  with  fif- 
teen boarders  and  forty  day  pupils.     We  are  glad  to 


South  India  Cojstference.  211 

report  an  addition  of  five  thousand  rupees  to  the  funds 
of  this  school,  and  to  learn  that  there  is  a  good  hope  of 
securing  still  further  aid  at  an  early  day.  As  soon  as 
a  large  and  better  building  can  be  secured  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  the  attendance  will  largely 
increase.  Mr.  C.  A.  Martin  has  had  charge  of  the 
school  during  the  past  year,  and  has  done  much  to  put 
it  on  a  better  financial  basis  than  it  has  heretofore  en- 
joyed. If  the  plans  formed  by  him  can  be  fully  carried 
out,  there  is  good  reason  to  hope  for  a  bright  future 
to  the  Calcutta  Boys'  School. 

5.  Cawnpobe. 

The  South  India  Conference  has  a  joint  interest  in 
the  two  schools  in  Cawnpore.  Satisfactory  reports 
have  been  received  from  the  principals  of  both  insti- 
tutions, brief  mention  of  which  may  be  here  made. 

The  Memorial  School  for  Boys,  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Rev.  F.  Neeld,  has  enjoyed  a  fairly  pros- 
perous year,  and  closes  with  sixty-eight  pupils  on  the 
rolls — the  average  attendance  having  been  fifty-six. 
The  income  has  exceeded  the  expenditure,  and  a  slight 
reduction  has  been  made  in  the  debt  of  the  institution. 
The  health  of  the  pupils  has  been  good,  while,  better 
still,  there  has  been  a  good  spiritual  work  among  the 
boys,  a  number  of  them  having  been  hopefully  con- 
verted to  God.  The  principal  reports  that  he  has  room 
for  twenty-five  additional  boarders,  and  expresses  the 
hope  that  the  members  of  the  South  India  Conference 
may  use  their  influence  to  send  boys  to  the  school. 

The  Cawnpore  Girls'  School — Miss  S.  A.  Easton, 
principal — reports  a  year  of  quiet  but  successful  work. 


212  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

The  average  number  of  boarders  throughout  the  year 
has  been  forty  four.  The  health  of  the  pupils  has  been 
exceptionally  good,  and  "the  order,  regularity,  and 
attention  very  gratifying.  Real  progress  has  been 
made  in  those  things  which  are  not  only  better  than 
silver  or  gold,  but  better  than  learning."  The  finances 
of  the  school  are  in  good  condition,  but  we  would 
earnestly  suggest  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  that  im- 
mediate measures  be  taken  to  secure  a  larger  grant-in- 
aid  than  is  now  given.  The  study  of  Hindustani  is 
successfully  prosecuted  in  this  school — a  feature  of  the 
institution  worthy  of  unqualified  commendation. 

6.  Chandarghat. 
No  report  of  the  school  at  this  place  has  been  re- 
ceived. 

7.  Egutpooea. 

From  the  brief  report  given  of  the  school  at  Egut- 
poora,  we  learn  that  forty-two  pupils  are  under  instruc- 
tion, and  two  teachers  employed.  For  a  school  of  its 
grade,  good  work  is  done  here,  and  the  teachers  are 
strongly  commended  for  their  fidelity  and  zeal. 

8.  Madras. 
The  school  at  Yepery,  Madras,  has  been  under  the 
management  of  Miss  M.  J.  E.  Taylor  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  past  year,  and  reports  a  year  of  successful 
labor.  The  attendance  has  been  over  seventy,  and  the 
progress  made  has  been  very  satisfactory.  Better  ac- 
commodations are  greatly  needed  in  order  to  put  the 
institution  on  a  better  footing.  The  fees  charged  are  so 
low  as  to  be  nearly  nominal,  and  as  the  grant-in-aid  is 


South  India  Conference.     213 

very  small,  the  school  has  to  struggle  against  serious 
disadvantages.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
the  work  done  has  been  of  a  very  valuable  character, 
and  it  is  greatly  to  be  hoped  that  means  may  be  found 
for  enlarging  the  sphere  of  usefulness  which  the  school 
now  enjoys. 

9.    POONA. 

The  school  at  this  place  has  been  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  Rev.  W.  E.  Robbins,  and  reports  forty- 
nine  pupils  on  the  rolls  at  the  close  of  the  year,  with  an 
average  monthly  attendance  of  forty-two.  Here,  as 
elsewhere,  the  need  of  additional  financial  resources  is 
keenly  felt. 

10.  Rangoon,  Buemah. 

Arrangements  have  been  perfected  for  opening  a 
girls'  school  for  both  boarders  and  day  pupils  in  Ran- 
goon, and  Miss  Warner,  an  experienced  teacher  from 
America,  is  now  on  her  way  to  take  charge  of  the 
institution.  The  prospects  of  this  school  are  very 
encouraging,  but  it  would  be  premature  to  publish 
further  details  at  present.  The  school  will  be  opened 
at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  and  make,  no  doubt,  a 
good  report  at  the  next  Conference. 


214  Selb^-Supporting  Missions. 


XV. 

MISSIONARY  CHARACTER  OF  OUR  SELF- 
SUPPORTING  MISSIONS. 

A  GOOD  Bishop  said  to  me :  "  Your  men,  or 
the  men  you  send  out,  are  not  missionaries,  for 
missionaries  are  stipendiaries." 

Reply — "  Paul,  Barnabas,  and  Co.,  were  not 
stipendiaries,  yet  they  were  missionaries  of  the 
very  best  type." 

"  A  missionary  is  one  sent — a  true  missionary 
is  one  sent  by  God  to  sinners  sitting  in  dark- 
ness, whose  enlightenment  depends  on  the  light 
being  sent  to  them.  If  thus  sent,  it  matters 
not  whether  it  be  through  the  agency  of  a  mis- 
sionary society  or  a  single  Church,  as  that  of 
Antioch,  or  of  an  individual  man  as  Paul,  or  as 
Grossner,  the  German." 

The  Bishop  said,  "  But  Paul  did  not  go  out 
to  found  schools,  as  you  are  doing  in  South 
America." 

Reply — "  Paul's  mission  was  mainly  to  people 
in  the  great  centers  of  educational  institutions 
and  commerce ;  but,  as  an  educated  man,  would 
he  not  encourage  his  people  to  provide  for  the 


Our  Missionary  Character.         215 

education  of  their  cMldren?  However  tliat 
may  have  been,  we  know  that  nearly  all  the 
missionaries  sent  out  by  modern  missionary 
Churches  for  the  past  one  hundred  and  eighty 
yeai's  have  spent  most  of  their  time  in  school- 
teaching,  which  was  just  the  foundation-work 
required." 

In  India,  with  but  very  few  individual  ex- 
ceptions, my  missionaries  were  the  first  in  that 
great  empire  who  devoted  themselves  wholly, 
from  the  beginning,  to  evangelizing  and  pastor- 
al work. 

Some  of  our  missionaries,  in  the  "  India  Mis- 
sion Conference,"  wei-e  so  impressed  with  my 
style  of  direct  evangelizing  work  among  the 
natives,  as  to  query  whether  or  not  they  should 
give  up  their  school-work.  Dr.  T.  asked  my 
advice  in  regard  to  it,  and  I  said,  "  No ;  that  is 
an  essential  preparatory  work  in  the  field  you 
are  cultivating." 

The  missionaries  of  the  American  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  under  a  mandate  from  their 
committee  at  home,  closed  up  all  their  schools, 
so  as  to  have  all  their  time  for  direct  Church 
work ;  but  I  think,  with  most  of  the  mission- 
aries themselves,  that  it  was  a  mistake ;  and, 
after    many   years,   I    learn    that   they   have 


216  SELF-SuPPOETLN-a    MISSIONS. 

resumed  their  school-work.  Tlie  two  de- 
partments of  work  should  be  carried  on  to- 
gether, acting  coiTelatively  on  each  other,  and 
all  for  the  salvation  of  the  people — old  and 
young. 

The  schools  now  being  developed  under  the 
South  India  Conference  came  up  as  a  fruit  of 
our  gospel  successes. 

The  fields  in  South  America,  in  which  I 
found  no  English  people  to  utilize  as  an  enter- 
ing wedge  to  native  work,  I  could  not  begin 
with  evangelizing,  for  I  had  no  footing,  and  no 
man  who  could  preach  in  their  language; 
hence,  I  began  where  all  missions  begin — in 
the  school-house.  But,  instead  of  founding 
pauper  schools,  to  be  supported  mainly  by  for- 
eign funds,  I  establish  first-class  academic  in- 
stitutions, which  command  the  confidence  and 
patronage  of  the  well-to-do  classes  of  the  native 
people.  The  patrons,  parents,  and  pupils  are 
Roman  Catholics.  I  enter  into  written  articles 
of  agreement  with  them  for  school-work,  and 
one  of  the  articles  provides  that  we  shall  daily 
read  tlie  Holy  Scriptures,  and  pray  in  the 
schools.  We  also  organize  Sunday-schools  in 
each  place,  and  in  the  music  department  of 
our  institutions,  in  addition  to  the  classes  for 


Our  Missionary  Character.         217 

learning  instrumental  music,  all  tlie  cMldren, 
boys  and  girls,  are  taught  vocal  music. 

In  Concepcion,  Chile,  for  example,  our  music 
teacher,  Miss  Lelia  H.  Waterhouse,  taught  the 
children  to  sing  with  such  charming  attractive- 
ness that,  to  meet  the  demands  of  a  Roman 
Catholic  population,  she  gave  a  monthly  con- 
cert of  sacred  song  to  crowds  of  Romanists, 
who  came  to  hear  the  children  sing  "  What  a 
friend  we  have  in  Jesus,"  "  Jesus,  lover  of  my 
soul,"  "  Rock  of  ages,"  and  a  hundred  others  of 
gospel-teaching  hymns.  With  each  hymn, 
sister  Lelia  put  in  words  of  explanation  and 
her  own  "testimony  for  Jesus."  The  people, 
without  suspicion  or  prejudice,  would  gather 
about  her  and  beg  her  to  visit  them  at  their 
houses ;  and  on  one  occasion,  by  request,  Lelia 
and  her  children  sang  in  the  Cathedral,  to  the 
astonishment  of  priests  and  people.  That 
highly-educated  heroic  daughter  of  one  of  our 
faithful  ministers  of  the  Maine  Conference, 
though  in  our  poverty  obliged  to  go  to  her 
hard  field  as  a  steerage  passenger,  is  as  true  a 
missionary,  in  my  judgment,  as  ever  was  sent 
out  by  any  Missionary  Society.  It  is  true  that 
I  and  my  men  and  ladies  do  not  go  to  foreign 
people  to  ridicule  their  religion,  and  the  des- 


218  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

perate  struggles  they  manifest  in  their  daily 
ceremonies,  penances,  and  pilgrimages  to  meet 
its  requirements ;  but,  in  s}Tnpatliy  and  love,  to 
show  them  the  "Way,  the  Truth,  and  the 
Life."  While  we  tell  who  we  are,  and  what 
we  come  to  do,  and  make  no  compromise  with 
error  or  sin,  we  decline  to  debate  and  to  con- 
tend with  the  people  about  religious  beliefs  and 
names. 

The  method  of  most  missionaries  of  all 
societies  is  to  challenge  for  debate,  and  try  to 
convince  Romanists  and  Jews,  Mohammedans 
and  Hindus,  Buddhists  and  Brahmans,  that  their 
systems  are  radically  wrong,  all  wrong;  and 
that  Christianity  is  right,  all  right. 

Well,  the  parties  on  the  opposite  side  don't 
admit  the  premises  assumed  by  these  mission- 
aries, and  then  what  is  the  worth  of  their  argu- 
ments, or  the  weight  of  their  conclusions? 

That  is  what  Aristotle  designated  "  begging 
the  question,"  a  fallacy  and  a  failure  all  the 
way  through.  Thus  the  educated  classes  of 
Hindus,  Mohammedans,  and  Parsees  in  In- 
dia, have  been  led  to  arm  themselves  with  all 
the  infidel  books  that  ever  issued  from  the 
press,  to  be  used  as  weapons  with  which  to 
fight   the   missionaries.     However  great  their 


Our  Missionary  Character.         219 

disagreements  witli  eacli  otlier,  they  are  so 
keen  on  the  scent  of  a  missionary,  that  they 
lose  sight  of  all  their  own  differences,  and 
simultaneously  go  for  the  man  of  God. 

This  was  not  the  apostolic  method  of  deal- 
ing with  the  "  strangers  and  foreigners  "  whom 
they  hoped  to  win  for  Christ. 

The  apostles  were  logicians,  and  they  never 
"  begged  the  question."  They  always  kindly 
and  cautiously  laid  their  "  major  premises  " — 
their  foundation  facts — in  the  region  of  admit- 
ted truth — facts  that  the  opposite  party  could 
not  deny ;  then  their  conclusions  came  with  logi- 
cal irresistibility.  Thus,  when  preaching  to 
Jews,  they  deduced  the  foundation  of  their 
arguments  from  the  "holy  Scriptures,"  which 
the  Jewish  people  admitted  to  be  the  standard 
of  truth  from  which  there  was  no  appeal. 

In  preaching  to  the  heathen,  they  said  noth- 
ing about  the  Scriptures,  but  went  down  with 
them  into  the  region  of  their  own  natural  re- 
ligiousness, and  along  the  line  of  admitted 
facts  of  their  personal  moral  responsibilit^T-, 
their  violation  of  the  laws  of  their  consciences, 
their  guilt  and  condemnation,  their  pollution 
and  helplessness,  their  sincere  and  desperate 
struggles   for    relief — by   sacrifices,    ablutions, 


220  Self-Supporting  Missioi^s. 

penances,  and  pilgrimages — all  backed  up  by 
the  writings  of  their  own  poets.  Thus,  without 
debate,  they  got  a  basis  on  which  to  build,  and 
by  the  word  of  God  and  their  testimony  for 
Jesus  they  laid  on  that  basis  a  foundation  of 
evidences  on  which  to  rest  their  faith,  and 
"  come  and  see,"  and  receive  Jesus. 

So  that  my  missionaries  are  in  this  and  in 
many  other  things,  as  may  be  seen  in  my 
books  on  Africa  and  India,  working  a  revolu- 
tion in  missionary  methods ;  a  new  departure 
back  to  the  old  gospel  way  of  doing  it. 

All  the  employees  in  our  "Domestic  Mis- 
sions" are  called  missionaries,  and  more  than 
half  of  the  missionary  money  paid  into  the 
"treasury  of  our  Missionary  Society  is  paid 
out  for  their  support." 

My  men  and  ladies  are  sent  on  a  gospel 
mission;  hence,  they  are  missionaries.  They 
are  sent  on  a  gospel  mission  to  foreign 
countries;  hence  they  are  "foreign  mission- 
aries." 

"Taylor's men  and  Taylor's  missions!  We 
are  tired  of  hearing  such  things." 

Well,  my  tired  brothers,  you  had  better  pray 
for  a  large  stock  of  patience,  for  you  will 
never  hear  the  last  of  it. 


OuK  Missionary  Character.         221 

I  should  greatly  prefer  to  sliun  this  appear- 
ance of  egotism ;  but  wliat  shall  I  say  ? 

If  I  say  "  our  missionaries,"  it  would  ambigu- 
ously a]3ply  to  those  sent  out  by  "  our "  Mis- 
sionary Board,  for  I  claim  as  large  a  share  in 
them  as  any  other  minister  in  "  our  "  Church 
can  set  up. 

I  can't  say  "  the  missionaries  sent  out  by  the 
^  Methodist  Self  -  Supporting  Missionary  So- 
ciety,'" for  the  reason  that  no  such  society 
exists. 

I  am  simply  an  errand-runner  and  recruiting- 
sergeant  for  the  King.  He  has  called  me  to 
this  business,  and  has  set  his  seal  of  success  on 
my  work. 

I  am  thus,  under  God,  the  founder  of  foreign 
missions,  and  the  sender  of  missionaries  to  man 
them,  and  until  a  better  designation  is  sug- 
gested, I  guess,  on  the  line  of  truth  and  brevity, 
I  shall  go  on  saying,  "my  missions" — "my 
missionaries." 

The  Christian  gentlemen  and  ladies  whom  I 
send  out  are  not  my  servants ;  I  am  their  serv- 
ant for  Christ's  sake.  I  pay  them  nothing,  and 
receive  the  same  from  them :  on  the  other 
hand,  I  pay  my  own  expenses  and  work  for 
nothing. 


222  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

Tlie  question  raised  by  many  good  men, 
however,  is,  whether  or  not  my  missions  are  for 
the  natives  of  foreign  countries,  or  simply  for 
the  few  scattered  English  people  sojourning  in 
those  countries? 

That  never  was  a  question  with  me  nor  with 
my  men.  It  is,  however,  a  question  continually 
propounded  by  good  people  who  know  but 
little  of  my  work,  and  who  don't  take  the 
trouble  to  inform  themselves  on  the  subject ; 
and  it  is  assumed  and  assei-ted,  by  a  small  class 
of  officials,  that  the  latter  is  the  scope  and  end 
of  my  missions,  and  that  ''  there  is  no  mission- 
ary work  in  them."  That  is  not  so  much  from 
a  design  to  injure  my  missions  as  from  a  fear 
that  the  success  of  self-supporting  missions  may 
injure  the  financial  resources  of  our  Missionary 
Society ;  as  though  God  would  antagonize 
himself. 

Do  THE  ACTUAL  RESULTS  sustaiu  the  claim 
of  your  Missions  to  genuine  missionary  char- 
acter ? 

I  answer,  in  the  first  place,  that  we  rest  our 
claims  on  our  foundation  principles  and  meth- 
ods, as  applied  to  a  foreign  people,  and  propose 
to  take  time  for  the  demonstration,  as  the  Lord 
shall  lead  us  and  speed  us  on  our  way. 


Our  Missiojs^ary  Character.         223 

As  proof  in  part,  however,  we  refer  to  tlie 
Soutli  India  Conference  and  its  work.  That 
Conference  is  the  organic  embodiment  of  a 
part  of  the  fruits  of  the  movement  in  which, 
ten  years  ago,  I  stood  alone,  as  a  stranger  in  a 
strange  land.  Now  our  self-supporting  wit- 
nessing Churches  stand  out  as  beacon  lights  in 
all  the  great  centers  of  population  in  that  em- 
pire of  darkness.  Let  any  unprejudiced  man 
consider  these  things,  and  measure  if  he  can 
their  salutary  effect  on  those  heathen  masses. 

As  to  the  conversion  of  natives  in  those 
great  centers  of  commerce  and  caste  in  which 
my  missions  are  planted,  no  missionary  society 
has,  up  to  the  present  hour,  collected  a  church 
which,  either  in  numbers  or  social  standing, 
they  Avould  dare  to  bring  forward  as  a  test  and 
proof  of  the  true  missionary  character  of  their 
organization  and  work.  They  have  had  at  the 
front  some  of  the  ablest  men  of  their  day ;  they 
have  had  nearly  half  a  century  of  faithful  toil 
in  those  fields,  with  millions  of  money  at  com- 
mand; they  have  founded  colleges,  and  edu- 
cated thousands  of  high-caste  Hindus;  but, 
with  a  few  individual  exceptions,  failed  to  bring 
them  to  Jesus.  I  don't  mean  to  cast  the  slight- 
est reflection  on  the  grand  men  who  have  devoted 


224  SELi;-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

their  lives  to  this  great  work,  for  it  is  a 
work  not  to  be  measured  by  numerical  results, 
but  I  simply  intimate  tkat  it  cannot  be  reason- 
ably expected  tliat  a  movement  of  yesterday, 
beginning  without  prestige,  money,  or  friends, 
shoidd  suddenly  break  down  the  hitherto  im- 
passable barriers,  and  record  great  numbers  of 
caste  people  among  its  converts. 

The  charity  principle  on  which  all  the  mis- 
sionary societies  are  based,  as  I  have  before 
shown,  is  well  adapted  to  the  fields  in  which 
they  have  reported  great  numerical  successes, 
whether  in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  or  Labra- 
dor, or  Africa. 

I  saw  the  king  of  the  Amapondo  nation  of 
Kafiirs  sitting  in  council  with  his  (amapakati) 
councilors.  The  king  sat  on  a  stone  elevated 
a  couple  of  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
and  the  councilors  sat  on  the  grass  around  him 
— a  king  and  privy  council  discussing  a  war 
policy  for  their  armies  then  advancing  to  engage 
the  armies  of  a  neighboring  tribe  in  mortal  com- 
bat. Well,  for  this  royal  person  and  his  high 
ofiicers  of  state  there  was  not  a  shirt,  and  not 
one  of  them  ever  had  a  shirt  in  his  life.  The 
mandate  of  such  a  council  will  turn  a  whole 
nation  to  nominal  Christianity,  and  then  vnth 


Our  Missionary  Character.         225 

money  and  time  and  toil  tens  of  thousands  of 
them  may  be  brought  to  receive  Christ ;  but 
large  numbers  are  baptized  on  a  catechetical 
training  and  a  professed  belief  in  Christ,  with- 
out the  inward  experience  or  outward  fruit  of 
a  new  life.  But  among  the  educated  men  of 
means  the  missionaries  on  the  old  line  have 
not  made  a  success,  and  it  is  too  early  in  the 
movement  of  self-sup]3orting  missions  to  expect 
a  decided  success  among  upper-class  natives. 
As  I  have  before  explained,  I  do  not  believe  it 
can  be  done  on  the  charity  principle.  I  do  be- 
lieve it  can  be  done  on  principles  ^'  one  and 
two"  by  the  power  of  God.  Thus  far  we 
have  not  reached  any  of  the  rich  people,  nor 
many  of  the  poor  people,  but  a  variety  of  mid- 
dle-class producers,  and  from  the  beginning 
have,  from  indigenous  resources,  made  a  S'elf- 
supporting  success. 

Again,  from  the  commencement  of  onr  work, 
as  soon  as  we  got  a  company  of  witnesses  newly 
saved  from  sin,  we  began  regular  preaching  to 
the  natives.  Thus  in  Bombay  we  established 
preaching  for  natives  on  ''  the  esplanade,"  and 
at  "the  fountain,"  four  days  per  week,  and 
those  appointments  have  been  kept  up,  I  learn, 
ever  since,  now  for  ten  years;  and  so  we  pro- 

15 


226  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

ceeded  in  Calcutta,  Madras,  and  wherever  else 
the  Lord  gave  us  a  witnessing  Church,  and 
from  the  start  laid  down  the  theory,  and  put  it 
into  effect,  to  utilize,  as  far  as  possible,  all  our 
English  agency  and  resources  for  the  salvation 
of  the  natives.  We  don't  recognize  any  color 
line  among  our  people ;  hence  no  separate  col- 
umn in  our  Conference  reports  for  black,  white, 
or  mixed. 

Differing  from  many  of  the  missionaries 
around  us,  we  refuse  to  baptize  an  adult  of 
any  color  until  we  have  satisfactory  evidence 
of  genuine  conversion  to  God ;  and  don't  retain 
the  names  of  people  on  our  books  who  do  "  not 
attend  class  "  and  manifest  the  fruits  of  contin- 
ued fidelity  to  God  and  his  Church.  So  that 
it  is  only  by  special  inquiry  that  it  can  be  seen 
what  proportion  of  our  membei'S  are  converts 
from  the  ranks  of  raw  heathenism. 

In  1876,  when  our  Conference  was  regularly 
organized,  Bishop  Andrews  made  diligent  in- 
quisition and  reported  "only  eighty-six  full- 
blooded  Hindus"  in  our  body.  Did  ever  any 
new  four-year-old  mission  make  so  good  a 
showing  ?  And  not  a  cent  of  money  to  draw 
them  to  us. 

In  1879  Dr.  Thobum  wrote  me  that  at  that 


Ottr  Missionary  Character.         227 

time  one  for  every  ten  of  our  members  was  a 
convert  from  heathenism. 

In  1880  Eev.  C.  B.  Ward  wrote  me  that  the 
proportion  then  was  one  for  every  seven — 
about  300. 

The  latest  information  reports  450  in  a 
membership  of  2,040.  So  that  we  are  mak- 
ing steady  advances  on  that  line.  Indeed,  the 
English  population  is  so  limited,  and  so 
scattered,  that  we  cannot  hope  to  do  more 
than  fill  the  gaps  occasioned  by  death  and 
removals,  and  hold  to  our  present  numbers, 
except  by  penetrating  the  native  masses. 

Our  English  membership  have  stood  by  us 
nobly  in  supporting  our  ministers  and  school 
teachers  and  their  families,  and  helping  to  ex- 
tend the  work  among  the  natives,  but  we  have 
encountered  several  drawbacks  to  the  training 
of  our  missionaries  for  effective  native  work. 

1.  Our  success  in  utilizing  the  English  and 
Eurasians  in  supporting  such  a  missionary 
movement  led  missionaries  of  other  bodies  to 
run  with  hook,  line,  and  sinkers,  to  fish  in  the 
same  waters,  and  our  men  had  to  give  more 
special  attention  to  English  work  in  the  com- 
petition that  ensued,  and  hence  that  much  lesa 
time  and  strength  to  native  work. 


228  Self-Supportes"g  Missiot^s. 

2.  As  may  be  seen  in  tables  of  statistics, 
mucli  time  and  money  have  been  given  to 
churcli  building. 

3.  The  frequent  itinerant  removals  of  our 
men  far  away  from  the  vernaculars  they  have 
commenced  to  learn,  into  the  regions  of  other 
languages,  have  operated  unfavorably  to  their 
acquisition  of  any  one  language.  My  plan 
was,  that  every  missionary  should  master  at 
least  one  native  language,  and  in  order  to  do 
that,  and  for  the  subsequent  use  of  it,  he  should 
always  remain  in  the  region  in  which  that  lan- 
guage was  spoken ;  but  by  the  power  of  God 
we  are  bound  to  succeed  on  our  principles  of 
missionary  work  among  the  heathen.  They  are 
God's  own  gospel  principles,  and  he  will  honor 
them. 

I  will  here  insert,  from  the  Minutes  of  the 
recent  session  of  the  South  India  Conference, 
the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Native  Work : 

The  Committee  appointed  to  report  on  Native  Work 
beg  to  state  : 

1.  That  the  fundamental  principle  upon  which  the 
work  of  the  South  India  Conference  was  founded,  was 
that  each  English-speaking  congregation  with  its  pastor, 
was  to  be  a  missionary  center,  from  which  direct  evan- 
gelistic effort  and  inliuence  should  go  forth  to  the  hea- 
then beyond.     The  Rev.  William  Taylor  explicitly  and 


Our  Missionary  Character.         229 

repeatedly  formulated  this  as  the  principle  upon  which 
his  "mission,"  subsequently  organized  as  the  South 
India  Conference,  was  built.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  Brother  Taylor  came  to  India  especially  to  work 
among  the  natives  of  the  country. 

He  had  been  gloriously  used  of  the  Lord  in  KafRrland, 
seven  thousand  having  yielded  to  Christ  under  his 
preaching  through  an  interpreter,  and  he  came  to  this 
country  under  the  persuasion  that  the  want  of  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  languages  would  not  prove  a  formidable 
barrier.  On  his  way  hither,  at  Ceylon,  he  had  an  op- 
portunity of  addressing  the  natives  through  an  inter- 
preter with  such  success  that  he  was  encouraged  to 
believe  he  would  be  used  among  the  natives  of  India. 
He  came  to  India  upon  the  invitation  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Mission  in  Oudh  and  Rohilcund,  whose  labors 
were  exclusively  among  the  natives  ;  and  spent  his  first 
year  in  preaching  to  them  through  interpreters.  When 
he  came  to  labor  in  the  Bombay  Presidency,  he  began 
to  preach  to  the  natives,  and  it  was  only  when  he 
became  aware  that  the  Europeans  and  the  Eurasians 
constituted  a  moral  barrier  in  the  way  of  any  exten- 
sive or  satisfactory  work  among  the  natives,  that  he 
felt  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  the  Lord  would 
have  him  approach  the  masses  of  the  country  through 
the  nominal  Christians. 

With  this  conviction  and  with  this  object,  the 
Churches  organized  by  him  were  founded.  He  did  not 
underrate  the  importance  of  evangelistic  work  among 
the  Europeans  and  Eurasians,  but  he  regarded  this  as 
the  outer  camp  of  the  great  citadel,  necessary  to  be 
taken,  chiefly,  for  the  reduction  of  the  more  stubborn 


230  SELF-SUPPORTING    MISSIONS. 

Stronghold  within.  His  principle  undoubtedly  was,  that 
the  native  work  should  be  so  affiliated  with  the  English 
work,  that  they  should  grow  together,  be  supported 
together,  and  succeed  together,  the  object  evidently 
being  twofold,  namely,  the  prosecution  of  the  work 
among  the  natives,  as  well  as  the  diffusion  and  culti- 
vation of  the  missionary  spirit  among  the  growing 
Churches. 

2.  In  looking  over  the  work  of  our  Conference  dur- 
ing the  last  five  years,  we  see  no  little  reason  for  encour- 
agement and  thankfulness.  In  not  a  few  of  our 
Churches  direct  effort  has  been  put  forth  among  the 
natives  with  a  fair  measure  of  success.  In  Bombay 
the  word  of  God  has  been  steadily  and  faithfully 
preached  ;  in  Calcutta  a  large  congregation  has  been 
gathered  in  ;  in  Allahabad  and  its  suburbs  persevering 
efforts  have  been  maintained  ;  in  Madras  and  Banga- 
lore the  gospel  of  Christ  has  not  been  without  a  wit- 
ness among  the  heathen.  Four  members  of  our  Con- 
ference have  been  from  time  to  time  exclusively  in  the 
field  representing  the  Hindustani,  Marathi,  Telugu,  and 
Tamil  languages.  Among  our  lay  preachers,  many 
have  faithfully  labored  in  this  department.  In  the  way 
of  direct  success,  although  we  are  by  no  means  satis- 
fied with  the  results  achieved,  nor  believe  that  we  have 
reaped  as  we  might  have  reaped,  we  nevertheless  see 
reason  for  thankfulness  and  encouragement  in  the 
progress  made. 

3,  We  cannot  refrain,  however,  from  exj^ressing  the 
conviction  that,  as  a  body,  we  are  in  danger  of  losing 
sight  of  the  fundamental  principle  underlying  our  work. 
We  regard  with  uneasiness  the  sentiment,  indulged  in 


OuE  MissiONAEY  Character.         231 

some  quarters,  tliat  the  English  work  is  to  be  the  sum 
and  total  of  our  aspirations  and  efforts  ;  and  we  have 
been  grieved  to  hear  that  this  section  of  our  work  has, 
in  some  instances,  so  completely  absorbed  time  and 
attention  as  to  leave  but  little  room  for  the  other.  We 
are  aware  that  our  preachers  have  done  hard  and  good 
work ;  that  they  have  labored  constantly  and  effectu- 
ally, and  that  our  brethren  are  perfectly  sincere  in  offer- 
ing this  plea.  But  this  very  fact  affords  confirmation 
to  our  fears,  for  it  demonstrates,  that  while  the  obliga- 
tions of  English  work  are  sacredly  regarded,  the  respon- 
sibilities connected  with  the  other  are  not  adequately 
appreciated. 

4.  To  remedy  this  condition  of  things  it  has  been 
more  than  once  proposed  to  thrust  out  specially  selected 
men  into  the  native  field,  to  be  supported  by  a  Confer- 
ence Missionary  Association.  Now,  while  we  believe 
that  in  the  course  of  our  work  there  will  be  men  upon 
whom  God  will  lay  his  hand  for  special  service,  and 
while  we  are  willing  to  recognize  and  indorse  such, 
when  they  appear  before  us,  it  is  necessary  in  our  judg- 
ment to  be  very  guarded,  lest  such  an  exceptional  pro- 
cedure should  come  to  be  regarded  by  us  as  our  general 
and  normal  mission  policy.  Such  a  course,  in  delegat- 
ing the  obligations  of  this  work  to  a  selected  few,  and 
these  few  supported  by  a  Conference  fund,  would  put 
an  end  to  the  circulation  of  a  healthy  missionary  spirit 
through  our  Conference  as  a  body,  as  well  as  sap  the 
principle  of  support  accepted  and  cherished  by  us 
hitherto.  As  bearing  on  this  subject,  we  quote  from 
the  Minute  on  Native  Work,  adopted  at  our  annual 
session  of  1878  : 


232  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

"  Men  should  not  be  employed  on  stated  salaries  and 
sent  out  among  the  heathen,  although  the  money  is  all 
raised  in  India.  Such  a  course  Avould  not  differ  ma- 
terially from  the  usual  policy  of  missionary  societies, 
and  would  be  quite  at  variance  with  the  fundamental 
principle  on  which  our  work  was  commenced." 

5.  In  view  of  all  these  considerations,  it  is  our  con- 
viction that,  as  a  Conference,  we  need  to  take  some 
advanced  and  decided  action  with  reference  to  the 
more  general  and  faithful  prosecution  of  native  work 
amon^:  us,  but  that  in  order  to  this  we  must  return  to 
the  early  principles  upon  which  our  work  was  founded. 
While  we  are  quite  willing  to  recognize  the  good  hand 
of  our  God,  when  specially  laid  upon  any  brother  for 
a  particular  service,  as  in  the  case  of  Brother  C.  B. 
Ward,  we  feel  that  the  successful  solution  of  this 
problem  requires  the  general  and  concerted  action  of 
each  member  of  the  Conference.  To  give,  if  possible, 
practical  form  to  this  proposition,  we  are  of  opinion  : 

(1.)  That  we,  as  a  Conference,  ought  more  heartily 
to  recognize  the  obligations  of  native  work  among  us. 
As  leaders  of  the  people,  we  can  only  expect  them  to 
feel  these  obligations  as  we  recognize  and  cherish 
them.  Further,  that  we  ought  to  regard  it  as  a  duty 
devolving  upon  each  preacher  and  English-speaking 
flock,  to  do  every  thing  possible  to  spread  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Gospel  among  the  heathen. 

(2.)  That,  in  order  to  be  fully  furnished  for  this 
work,  each  of  our  preachers,  (saving  in  cases  particu- 
larly excepted  by  the  Conference,)  should  acquire  one 
or  other  of  the  native  languages,  and  pass  therein  at 
the  annual  sessions  of  our  Conference.     We  recommend 


Our  Missionary  Character.         233 

that  the  course  of  studies,  approved  in  1876,  be  ac- 
cepted by  the  Conference,  as  obligatory  upon  its  mem- 
bers, and  that  a  committee  of  examination  be  duly 
appointed  from  year  to  year  to  examine  in  these 
studies,  it  being  understood  that,  as  sanctioned  by  the 
Board  of  Bishops,  the  person  passing  shall  be  excused 
from  such  portions  of  the  regular  English  course  as  do 
not  relate  to  strictly  theological  subjects. 

(3.)  That  on  each  charge  the  preacher  should  seek 
out  from  his  flock  devoted  and  qualified  men  and 
women,  and  lead  them  out  to  such  departments  of 
work  as  they  may  be  fitted  for. 

(4.)  That,  until  the  native  language  is  acquired,  and 
the  preacher  can  preach  therein,  he  may  and  ought  to 
seek  out  and  labor  among  the  intelligent  English- 
speaking  natives  in  his  charge,  preach  through  an 
interpreter,  organize  vernacular  Sunday-schools,  and 
by  his  presence  and  countenance  encourage  and  urge 
forward  this  department  of  work  in  his  circuit. 

(5.)  That,  in  order  that  the  preacher  in  charge  be 
free  to  prosecute  evangelistic  work  among  the  natives, 
our  church  members  and  congregations  should  consent 
to  afford  and  to  accept,  in  such  measure  as  may  be 
needed,  the  ministrations  of  local  preachers,  exhibiting 
in  this  way  their  interest  in  mission  work,  and  bearing 
in  this  way,  as  in  others,  their  share  of  the  burdens 
and  privations  involved  in  the  faithful  prosecution  of 
the  work. 

(6.)  That  points  of  contact  be  sought  for  the  English 
and  native  ministration  in  Sunday-schools  and  ver- 
nacular meetings  and  open  air  services,  so  that  the 
separating  gulf  be  narrowed  as  far  as  possible. 


234  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

(7.)  That  our  preachers,  by  example  and  exhortation, 
urge  upon  the  people  the  duty  of  labormg  for  and 
among  their  native  servants,  Christian  or  heathen. 

(8.)  Our  preachers  and  people  should  be  actuated 
by  such  a  spirit  of  self-denial  and  frugality  as  shall 
prevent  the  absorption  of  their  resources  in  the  English 
work,  thus  precluding  the  provision  of  funds  for  native 
work.  To  this  end  due  economy  ought  to  be  practiced 
in  all  our  church,  parsonage  and  school  enterprises. 

(9.)  In  planting  our  churches  in  new  fields,  their 
adaptability,  as  good  missionary  centers,  ought  to  be 
carefully  considered. 

(10.)  That  the  Presiding  Elder  of  each  district  should 
inquire  specifically  as  to  the  progress  of  native  work 
in  each  charge,  and  urge  the  preachers  to  pursue  their 
studies  in  the  vernacular.*  Further,  that  at  the  session 
of  our  Annual  Conferences  there  shall  be  a  standing 
committee  on  native  work  to  represent  this  particular 
interest ;  and,  if  possible,  that  missionary  anniversary 
exercises  be  arranged  in  connection  with  the  exercises 
of  our  Annual  Conference. 

(11.)  When  any  brother  offers  himself  exclusively 
for  native  work,  or  for  any  particular  department  of 
this  field,  we  recommend  that  he  be  duly  examined 
with  respect  to  his  reason  of  choice,  general  suitable- 
ness, or  particular  fitness,  and  if  he  seem  to  be  well 
fitted  for  the  special  work,  he  may  be  appointed 
thereto,  such  brother  being  dependent  upon  and  an- 
swerable to  the  Quarterly  Conference  of  which  he  is  a 
member. 

*  Rev.  D.  O.  Fox,  Presiding  Elder  of  Bombay  and  Madras  Districts,  has  ten  of 
his  ministers  preparing  for  examination  in  native  languages  at  the  next  Confer- 


Our  Missionary  Character.         235 

For  further  information  in  regard  to  our 
native  work  I  will  copy  a  letter  from  Rev.  C.  B. 
Ward,  published  in  the  "  Christian  Standard 
and  Home  Journal,"  of  May  27,  1882  : 

LETTEB  OF  C.   B.   WARD,  IN  CHARGE  OF  TELUGU   MISSION. 

The  regular  visits  of  the  "  Standard "  are  enjoya- 
ble to  us  in  this  far-off  frontier  skirmish  pit,  in  the 
very  midst  of  the  enemy's  country.  We  are  now  in 
the  midst  of  our  hot  season,  with  the  thermometer  100 
degrees  in  the  shade  every  day,  and  above  70  at  night; 
but,  bless  God,  we  are  all  well,  and  being  much  blessed 
in  our  work.  It  is  encouraging  to  us,  who  have  not  an 
English  neighbor,  and  spend  all  our  time  and  strength 
among  the  heathen,  to  hear  from  the  other  side  of  the 
water  that  we  are  doing  nothi7ig  for  the  heathen.  But 
all  is  fair  in  war  time.  Well,  we  do  not  wonder  that 
our  work  is  little  understood,  and  this  is  due  to  the 
little  that  is  known  of  it.  Probably  we  have  made  a 
mistake  in  not  saying  more  about  our  work  in  the  home 
papers.  Fearing  that  what  we  should  say  would  be  too 
readily  construed  into  specious  appeals  for  home  money, 
most  of  us  have  felt  like  keeping  still.  But  we  are  glad 
facts  will  out,  and  that  friends  on  both  sides  of  the 
ocean  are  praising  God  openly  in  print  for  what  we 
have  done  and  are  doing  now  for  the  heathen  in  the 
Indian  Empire. 

Our  orphan  work,  thus  far  the  most  important  part 
of  our  mission,  will  soon  become  one  of  the  depart- 
ments only  of  the  mission.  Our  "  Christian  Orphan- 
age," for  native  orphans,  is  now  companied  by  the 
"  Christian  Home  "  for  East  Indian  orphans.     In  the 


236  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

former  we  have,  boys  and  girls,  59  ;  and  the  latter,  10 
of  both  sexes.  The  work  of  training  these  orphans 
has  been  arduous,  assiduous,  and  most  successful.  Of 
the  59  native  orphans,  4^2  are  soundly  converted, 
and  for  more  than  one  year  have  lived  consistent  lives. 
Of  the  remainder  17,  ten  are  not  without  evidence  of 
a  precious  work  of  grace,  and  we  reckon  them  proba- 
tioners, though  they  are  not  yet  baptized,  nor  are  they 
communicants.  Of  the  ten  East  Indian  orphans,  one 
has  been  recently  converted,  while  grace  surrounds  the 
remainder  with  wholesome  influences. 

We  have,  however,  been  short-handed  all  along. 
Miss  Miller  left  us  April  8,  1881.  Her  place,  however, 
has  been  filled  by  Miss  C.  O'Leary,  an  East  Indian  or- 
phan twenty-five  years  of  age,  who  joined  us  in  Octo- 
ber, 1880.  She  has  labored  steadily  and  successfully. 
She  has  mastered  the  language,  and  acquired  much 
real  missionary  efficiency.  Sister  Ward  for  the  last 
year  has  spent  much  of  her  time  in  training  and 
developing  the  East  Indian  orphans. 

Nothing  is  clearer  to  us  to-day  than  that  God  has 
given  us  these  orphans,  and  lays  upon  us  the  responsi- 
bility and  privilege  of  training  some  of  our  own  mission- 
aries in  our  Orphanage.  We  have  now  under  training  a 
number  of  boys  and  girls  for  itinerant  work  another  year. 
The  boys  will  accompany  me,  trained  to  sing,  testify, 
pray,  lead  seekers  to  Christ,  some  of  them,  in  time,  to 
preach,  sell  and  give  away  Scriptures  and  tracts,  and 
do  any  other  kind  of  mission  work  opened  up  to  us  as 
we  move  about  from  village  to  village.  The  girls  will 
be  trained  for  Zenana  and  other  work  among  the  women. 
The  boys  and  myself  made  our  first  sally  last  week. 


Our  Missiois-ARY  Character.         237 

Near  by  was  a  large  feast  attended  by  some  15,000 
people.  Five  of  the  boys  and  myself  spent  two  nights 
and  two  days  on  the  ground  among  this  throng.  We 
sold  300  Bible  portions  and  tracts,  and  gave  away  400 
more,  besides  giving  our  personal  testimony  to  the  folly 
of  idolatry,  and  God's  way  of  salvation,  to  not  less  than 
1,000  persons.  The  boys  exceeded  all  expectations  for 
effectiveness.  We  came  home,  having  thus  introduced 
ourselves  to  the  people  of  the  country  for  more  than 
twenty  miles  each  side  of  us,  praising  God  for  the  pros- 
pect that  lies  before  us.  A  few  more  months  of  training 
and  drill,  and  this  "  Telugu  Mission  Band  "  will  com- 
mence incessant  itinerating  among  the  heathen.  We 
find  ourselves  in  the  midst  of  a  large  field  of  about 
7,000  square  miles,  with  about  3,000  villages,  and  500,- 
000  inhabitants,  all  open.  Our  prospect  is  only  bounded 
by  our  strength  and  heart. 

Our  third  year  of  faith  work  has  closed  successfully 
in  point  of  finance.  The  last  year  brought  us  about 
5,000  rupees;  the  previous  two  years,  about  7,000  rupees; 
and  India  is  richer  for  the  giving  of  it.  I  might  say 
we  have  received  from  America  $220  ;  from  England, 
five  pounds  sterling  ;  and  from  Scotland,  one  pound, 
in  the  three  years  ;  this  realized  here  about  600  rupees. 
Every  pice  of  the  balance  is  Indian.  We  set  out  on 
our  fourth  year  with  large  faith  and  courage  for  good 
deeds  and  fruits. 

Miss  Ruth  Freer,  another  daughter  of  India,  is  on 
her  way  from  her  home  in  Madras  to  join  our  mission 
as  I  write. 

CoLAE  Mission,  under  Brother  Jacobs'  leadership, 
has  been  in  the  midst  of  a  constant  revival  since  Con- 


238  Self-Suppobting  Missiois-s. 

ference.  More  than  100  have  found  the  Lord,  and 
these  are  all  Hindus,  three  years  ago  in  all  the  horrors 
of  darkness  and  idolatry.  Some  of  the  conversions  are 
of  great  moment.  One,  a  Brahmin,  is  likely  to  glorify 
the  Master  as  a  preacher  along  with  Brother  Jacobs. 
Brother  and  Sister  Jacobs,  nothing  daunted  by  their 
age,  have  boldly  undertaken  the  mastery  of  Canarese. 
They  are  sure  to  succeed,  too.  It  is  an  example  that 
should  inspire  younger  preachers,  to  see  a  gray-headed 
man  deliberately  sitting  down  to  acquire  a  new  lan- 
guage. The  Colar  Mission  will  soon  do  a  mighty  work 
in  that  part  of  the  country. 

Vepery,  Madras,  and  Chadarghat  have  each 
grandly  successful  native  Sunday-schools.  Bombay, 
in  her  two  principal  preaching-places,  has  services  for 
servants  that  are  being  blessed  of  God.  In  Poonah, 
Brother  Robbins  is  devoting  himself  entirely  to  na- 
tive work,  as  Brothers  Bowen  and  Gladwin  do  in 
Bombay.  Street-preaching  is  .maintained  in  the  lat- 
ter place  since  Brother  Taylor's  day.  The  Thakkur 
Mission,  attached  to  the  Egutpoora  Circuit,  under  Dr. 
Frazer,  assisted  by  Brother  Bruere,  is  doing  good  service 
among  the  Thakkur  hill  people.  We  understand  they 
have  two  native  workers,  and  a  small  house  or  shed 
for  gospel  work  among  them.  Nagpore  employs  a 
native  helper  and  has  a  native  church.  In  Banga- 
lore, Brother  B.  Peters  and  Brother  I.  A.  Richards  keep 
up  steady  Sunday-school  work  and  bazaar  preaching  in 
Tamil.  Lahore  has  a  native  Sunday-school.  Allaha- 
bad has  five.  The  Futtehpore  and  Lanowle  camp- 
meetings  held  daily  services  for  natives  this  year  with 
much  blessing.     Calcutta  is  the  seat  of  war,  no  daubt. 


OtJE  Missionary  Character.         239 

Almost  daily  street  processions  and  preaching  are  kept 
up.  Intense  interest  is  reported  by  Dr.  Thoburn,  such 
as  he  has  not  seen  during  the  years  of  our  Calcutta 
work.  Rangoon  maintains  native  work.  In  Calcutta 
the  Bengalee  Church,  already  strong,  is  growing 
up  most  encouragingly,  under  Brother  Nath.  With- 
in the  hounds  of  our  Conference  are  ten  men  exclusively 
employed  in  native  work.  Five  of  these  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Conference,  and  five  are  natives.  Besides 
this,  about  fifteen  ministers  are  partially  engaged  in 
native  work  in  conjunction  with  English.  Our  na- 
tive converts  now  number  more  than  450.  The  Lord  is 
graciously  leading  us  on,  and  we  expect  to  see  the  day 
when  many  will  be  ready  to  join  in  saying,  "  We  killed 
the  bear."  Our  work  is  a  most  wonderful  and  many- 
sided  work,  with  its  English  and  native  work,  schools, 
papers,  etc.  Few,  indeed,  have  been  the  missions  that 
have  let  themselves  into  so  many  real  effective  agencies 
in  ten  years  as  the  South  India  Conference  has  done. 
Our  history  is  one  of  marvelous  divine  guidance  and 
blessing. 
Pramoor,  Nizam's  Dominions,  A'pril  12,  1882. 

The  $220  from  America  came  unasked  from 
some  of  Ward's  friends,  and  was  so  mucli  to- 
ward putting  up  his  orphanage  buildings. 
That  is  incidental,  but  legitimate. 

I  mil  add  a  tabulated  exhibit  of  the  schools 
and  orphanages  of  both  the  North  and  South 
India  Conferences,  which  is  copied  from  the 
"Luoknow  Witness": 


240  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

I.  Of  the  North  India  Conference. 

Name  and  Sex,  On  roll,  1881. 

Cawnpore  Girls'  School 44 

Centennial  School,  (boys,) 184 

Christian  Girls'  School 45 

Memorial  School,  (boys,) 68 

Nynee  Tal  Boys'  School 

Nynee  Tal  Girls'  School 

Tlieological  Seminary,  (both  sexes,) 23 

Total  reported 364 

Orphanages  of  the  North  India  Conference. 

Name  and  Sex.  Number. 

Boys'  Orphanage 225 

Girls'  Orphanage 275 

Total 500 

These  are  all  assisted,  more  or  less,  by  mis- 
sionary money  from  New  York.  TJiey  are 
accomplisliing  a  work  for  God  that  cannot  be 
measured  by  statistical  tables. 

II.  Of  the  South  India  Conference. 

Name  and  Sex.  On  roll,  1881. 

Bangalore  Methodist  School,  (boys  and  girls,) 100 

Calcutta  Boys'  School 65 

Calcutta  Girls'  Scliool 206 

Cannington  Girls'  School 76 

Chadarghat  Methodist  School,  (boys  and  girls,) 45 

Mazagon  School,  (boys  and  girls,) 70 

Madras  School,  (boys  and  girls,) 70 

Poonah  School,  (boys  and  girls,) 49 

liaugoon  Girls'  School,  just  opening : 

Total 681 

Orphanages  Under  the  Care  of  the  South  India  Conference. 

The  Christian  Orphanage,  (native  boys  and  giils,) 60 

The  Childrens'  Home,  (Eurasian  boys  and  girls,) 10 

Colar  Orphanage,  (native  boys  and  girls,) 350 

Total 420 


Our  Missionaky  Character.         241 

Tlie  Colar  Orphanage  was  founded  inde- 
pendently by  Miss  Anstey,  but  was  put  under 
our  pastoral  supervision,  and  at  her  request 
Rev.  S.  P.  Jacobs,  a  holiness  straight^  has  been 
appointed  preacher  in  charge  of  Colar  Mission, 
and  is  having  natives  saved  daily.  All  the 
schools  and  orphanages  of  the  South  India 
Conference  subsist  on  indigenous  resources, 
without  any  missionary  appropriations. 

The  school  at  Bangalore  received  a  gift  of 
$3,000  from  Father  Baldwin,  of  Berea,  Ohio, 
with  which  Brother  Eichards  has  bought  one 
of  the  houses  occupied  by  the  school,  and  has 
cut  down  half  the  amount  before  paid  for  rent, 
and  he  hopes  that  the  Lord  may  put  it  into  the 
heart  of  some  other  man  of  means  to  send 
$3,000  to  buy  the  other  house  in  their  use,  and 
have  no  more  rents  to  pay. 

Sister  Inskip  is  trying  to  interest  her  friends 
to  build  a  house  for  our  girls'  school  in  Cal- 
cutta, and  I  hope  she  will  succeed. 

Tuition  rates  are  so  very  low  in  India  that  it 
is  hard  to  run  self-supporting  schools,  and  if 
our  friends  would  put  up  buildings  for  them, 
they  would  have  a  permanent  footing,  and, 
having  no  rent  bills  to  pay,  could  strengthen 
their  staff  of  teachers. 

16 


242  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

In  Rangoon  tlie  Government  lias  given  our 
minister,  John  E.  Robinson,  a  site  for  our  girls' 
school,  and  a  building  grant  of  $5,000.  So 
Miss  Warner  will  begin  on  vantage  ground. 

From  the  foregoing  exhibit  it  will  be  seen 
that  we  have  an  aggregate  of  681  scholars  in 
the  schools  named,  under  15  experienced  prin- 
cipals, and  they  are  assisted  by  about  40  under- 
teachers.  Besides  these,  there  are  the  410  na- 
tive orphans.  The  foregoing  list  of  Methodist 
schools  embraces  schools  of  high  grade  under 
the  principalship  of  our  missionary  men  and 
women. 

Besides  these  there  are  in  the  bounds  of  the 
North  India  Conference  242  village  schools  for 
natives ;  and  in  the  South  India  Conference 
there  are  private  schools  for  English  and  na- 
tives ;  and  native  primary  schools  on  the  plan 
of  unpaid  tuition,  as  I  intimated  at  the  open- 
ing of  this  chapter. 

So  the  time  is  hastening  on  when  "  the  eyes 
of  the  blind  shall  be  opened,  and  the  ears  of 
the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped.  Then  shall  the 
lame  man  leap  as  an  haii;,  and  the  tongue  of 
the  dumb  sing:  for  in  the  wilderness  shall 
waters  break  out,  and  streams  in  the  desert," 
and  the  glory  of  the  Ijord  shall  be  revealed. 


Our  Missionary  Character.         243 

I  wish  liere  respectfully  to  submit  a  few 
points  of  comparison  between  the  results  of  25 
years  of  faithful  work  in  the  North,  with  our 
10  years  of  effort  in  the  South. 

Regular  Minsters. 

1.  North  India  Conference 30 

South  India  Conference 50 

Local  Preachers. 

2.  North  India  Conference 68 

South  India  Conference ST 

Members  and  Probationers. 

3.  North  India  Conference 3,228 

South  India  Conference 2,040 

Baptisms  for  1881. 
North  India  Conference:   adults,  28t ;  children,  205...  492 

South  India  Conference:  adults,     41;  children,  144...  185 

Average  Attendance  at  Public  Worship, 

North  India  Conference 4,248 

South  India  Conference 3, 147 

Value  op  Church  Property. 

4.  North  India  Conference *|64,182 

South  India  Conference 131,725 

Parsonage  Property. 

4.  North  India  Conference $64,595 

South  India  Conference 16,475 

Church  and  Parsonage  Debts. 

5.  North  India  Conference $12,200 

South  India  Conference 27,050 

1.  Of  those  50  ministers,  47  are  at  their  work  in  In- 
dia. Six  of  them  combine  school  work  with  their 
preaching,  and  three  are  absent,  namely :  William 
Taylor,  founding  missions  ;  W.  B.  Osborn,  in  Austra- 

*  It  has  a  much  larger  value  in  Orphanage  and  Hospital  property. 


244  Self-supporting  Missions. 

lia  on  account  of  the  illness  of  his  wife  ;  "W.  E.  New- 
Ion,  at  home  with  broken-down  health. 

2.  The  68  of  North  India  Conference  are  doing 
regular  work  and  are  paid  from  the  missionary  appro- 
priations. 

The  57  of  South  India  Conference  support  them- 
selves, and  are  engaged  in  preaching  nearly  every  day 
in  the  week,  free  of  charge. 

3.  Of  the  3,228  members  of  North  India  Conference 
661  of  them,  including  the  68  local  preachers  named, 
are  employed  as  teachers  and  helpers  in  various 
departments  of  missionary  work,  and  are  paid  by  the 
Missionary  Society.  The  most  of  these  being  men, 
they  and  their  families  constitute  the  larger  proportion 
of  their  3,228  members,  and  drawing  their  supplies 
from  New  York. 

The  2,040  members  of  the  South  India  Conference 
not  only  support  themselves,  but,  without  a  dollar  of 
help  from  a  foreign  source,  support  all  their  own 
ministers  and  pay  all  other  running  expenses  of  the 
movement. 

4.  The  Church  and  parsonage  property  of  the 
North  India  Conference  don't  come  from  their  native 
membership  to  any  appreciable  extent,  but  from  a  few 
outside  patrons  in  India,  and  from  the  missionary  ap- 
propriations from  New  York. 

The  South  India  Conference  Church  and  parsonage 
property  came  almost  entirely  from  the  pockets  of  her 
lay  members  and  other  indigenous  sources. 

5.  Of  the  $27,050  of  debt  in  the  bounds  of  the  South 
India  Conference,  $11,500  on  the  Calcutta  Church  is 
considered  as  virtually  paid,  the  amount  having  been 


Our  Missionary  Character.         245 

divided  up    among    the    subscribers  and  paid  up  by 
annual  installments. 

The  North  India  Conference  employs  661  native 
workers  who  are  paid  by  the  Missionary  Board.  It  is 
in  the  fields  in  which  these  661  native  workers  are 
employed  so  largely  in  day  and  Sunday-school  work 
that  the  North  India  Conference  makes  her  grandest 
showing — 242  day-schools,  with  8,553  scholars,  and  260 
Sunday-schools,  with  11,996  scholars.  The  Missionary 
Society  has  invested  in  that  mission  in  25  years  more 
than  a  million  of  dollars,  and  I  would  not  assume  that 
a  dollar  of  it  has  been  misapplied.  As  a  rule  "  it  is 
more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,"  but  in  this  case, 
while  the  blessing  to  the  givers  far  exceeds  the  money 
value  of  the  gifts,  the  streams  of  blessing  to  the  receiv- 
ers exceed  all  possible  computation  of  money  values. 

"  Why  not  witlidraw  tlie  missionary  appro- 
priation from  tlie  Nortli  India  Conference  and 
let  them  swim  by  their  own  muscle  and  skill, 
like  the  South  India  Conference  ? " 

That  would  be  the  extreme  of  cruelty.  It 
would  be  infinitely  worse  than  turning  all  the 
orphans  of  the  asylums  of  New  York  out  into 
the  streets.  Those  natives  are,  in  the  main,  the 
wards  of  the  Missionary  Society,  and  have 
learned  to  depend  on  them  the  same  as  orphan 
children.  Moreover,  the  most  of  them  are  too 
poor  to  support  the  body  of  workers  employed 
as  ministers  to  them. 


246  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Self-support  may  be  readied  in  a  long  time, 
and  that  time  must  be  allowed  them  without 
rashly  cutting  down  the  missionary  appropria- 
tions. 

Brother  Parker  and  other  wise  men  among 
them  are  doing  all  they  can  to  develop  self- 
support,  and  they  are  succeeding.  When  I 
labored  with  them  twelve  years  ago  they  had 
a  membership  of  about  800,  and  nearly  all 
directly  or  indirectly  depending  on  missionary 
appropriations  from  New  York  for  their  sub- 
sistence, and  at  that  time  were  receiving  about 
$80,000  annually.  Now  they  show  a  member- 
ship of  3,228,  and  an  annual  appropriation 
of  a  little  over  $60,000.  So  in  the  last  twelve 
years  they  have  increased  their  membership 
about  75  per  cent,  and  reduced  the  annual 
missionary  appropriation  about  25  per  cent. ; 
and  nearly  the  whole  of  this  great  Sunday- 
school  development  has  been  mthin  those 
twelve  years.  When  I  went  to  Lucknow  they 
had  in  that  city  a  Sunday-school  of  about  30 
or  40,  but  I  was  allowed  to  lead  in  a  work  to 
give  them  a  Eurasian  membership,  and  Kev. 
Thomas  Craven,  a  Sunday-school  general  fresh 
from  Chicago,  utilized  this  new  element  for 
Sunday-school  work.     In  four  years  from  that 


Our  Missionary  Character.         247 

time  lie  had  a  Sunday-school  army,  mostly  of 
Hindu  and  Mohammedan  children,  marching 
through  the  streets  of  Lucknow  under  flags 
bearing  Christian  mottoes,  and  singing  the 
songs  of  salvation,  an  army  of  Sunday-school 
children  900  strong.  That  grew  out  of  our  re- 
vival movement  there  in  1870,  and  gave  an 
impetus  to  this  Sunday-school  work  that  is 
developing  so  grandly. 

The  Missionary  Society  withal  is  now  saving 
$20,000  a  year  from  their  former  appropriations 
for  North  India. 

So  much  for  a  self-supporting  mission  along 
side  of  them;  at  any  rate,  the  North  brethren 
give  me  the  credit  and  the  blame  of  a  clean 
loss  to  them  of  that  amount  annually ;  but  they 
are  wise  and  patient  and  don't  fall  out  with 
me  nor  my  people,  and  the  two  Conferences  are 
as  a  unit  in  their  work.  When  the  missionaries 
in  the  North  saw  an  account  of  the  attack  made 
on  me  and  my  missions  in  India,  at  the  Ecu- 
menical Conference  in  London,  they,  at  their 
next  session  of  Conference,  passed  emphatic 
resolutions  branding  the  attack  as  uncalled- 
for  and  unjust. 

The  Missionary  Society  will,  I  doubt  not, 
deal  kindly  with  the  missionaries  of  the  North 


248  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Conference.  They  are  men  of  God,  wise  and 
true,  and  they  must  be  trusted  to  go  on  de- 
veloping indigenous  resources,  and  reducing 
the  need  of  missionary  appropriations  as  fast 
as  it  can  be  done  safely. 

In  the  meantime  let  it  be  lawful  for  South 
India  Conference  to  proceed  in  its  work  with- 
out being  urged  year  by  year  to  ask  for  mis- 
sionary appropriations  from  New  York;  and 
let  the  two  Conferences  thus  move  on  har- 
moniously, each  in  its  appropriate  method  of 
work. 

The  centers  of  work  may  all  be  traced  on 
this  outline  map,  but  many  of  these  are  the 
heads  of  circuits  embracing  outstations  not 
named  on  the  list  of  apportionments  though 
some  of  them  are  on  the  map. 


'Bhawalpoo 


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^^i    "^  H  A  o"  p  o  Qj?:^;^^^ 

-^  ''        -^    >^^      ''^'^  ^^    ■•  >  . 

L.  P  R  O  V  I  r^E 
B    E_N^    A\L^ 


m 


m&Vf  Goa^^ 


Mangalore 


;^^  ,  "^.Ji^     ^^^ecunaeraliaa^'  "Chaaarghat  >^->S^"  ^^  v 

1^  <:y%'-':$b-^^  .^^-^^  ^ 


tajt^hoor 
jellary' 


f 


^ 


11    ^'-  /  ^T      ^ 

^'fM      A      D      R^/   A      a)    ItFeiamTiore     O 

^'i^,-¥:.?N       V"^  2^^-;^-C''^  ftlt.St. Thomas 

\  p  ;r)  Erf>V  V 


Callcat\  'C«^°o^)^^,#,^^^'^®       '^ 
OUTLIKE  MAP  Vr^m^^^^rHN^.S^P^tam 

OP 

I  N  D  I  A 

Scale  of  Miles 


200  300 


-15- 


75  Longitude 


Outlook  in  South  America.         251 


XVI. 

PASSING  PEEP  AT  THE  OUTLOOK  IN  SOUTH 
AMERICA. 

It  is  not  in  keeping  with  tlie  title  and  limited 
space  of  this  book  to  give  a  history  of  my  self- 
supporting  missions  in  South  America.  I  will 
give  simply  a  very  brief  outline  of  facts. 

On  the  16th  of  October,  1877,  I  sailed  from 
New  York  for  South  America.  After  spend- 
ing a  couple  of  months  in  miscellaneous  hard 
work  in  Callao,  a  pre-occupied  field,  and  not 
open  to  me,  I  set  out  from  that  city  on  January 
3,  1878,  on  a  southerly  voyage  of  exploration, 
for  the  purpose  of  opening  self-supporting  mis- 
sion fields  on  that  coast. 

Opening  a  field  in  my  work  in  India  meant 
my  own  direct  evangelizing  work,  till  by  the 
power  of  God,  according  to  his  Gospel,  I  suc- 
ceeded in  organizing  a  strong  self-supporting 
Church,  ready  at  once  to  receive  and  support 
the  pastors  required. 

In  South  America,  owing  to  my  limited  time, 
and  the  amount  of  track-laying  work  essential  to 
great  success,  especially  among  the  natives,  the 


2o2  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

opening  of  a  field  meant  a  very  different  thing. 
I  had  to  do  the  greatest  amount  of  work  in  the 
shortest  period  of  time  possible.  I  had  to  work 
my  way  right  in,  book  in  hand  containing  a 
written  proposal  of  what  I  wished  to  do,  with 
articles  of  agreement  to  be  signed  by  the  people, 
each  signature  to  be  accompanied  by  the  amount 
of  money  they  would  pledge — ^first,  to  pay  the 
outward  passage  of  the  missionaries,  and  sec- 
ond, the  amount  to  be  paid  monthly  for  their 
support.  I  refused  in  every  case  to  handle  a 
dollar  of  their  money.  I  paid  my  own  expenses 
as  I  do  every-where,  and  wrought  for  the  love 
of  God  and  souls  without  any  compensation 
from  men,  on  gospel  principle  No.  1. 

But  in  each  place  I  had  my  subscribers 
nominate  a  committee,  consisting  of  chaiiman, 
secretary,  collector,  and  treasurer,  whom  I  ap- 
pointed to  attend  to  the  business  and  forward 
the  passage  money  to  the  order  of  Nelson  &, 
Phillips,  805  Broadway,  New  York,  and  to 
collect  monthly  and  pay  into  the  treasury  the 
amount  subscribed  for  the  monthly  support  of 
my  missionaries. 

The  first  field  I  opened  was  Mollendo,  the 
western  terminus  of  the  MoUendo,  Arequipa, 
and  Puno  railroad,  then  completed  three  hun- 


Outlook  in  South  America.         253 

dred  and  twenty-four  miles  to  Puno,  on  tlie 
shore  of  Lake  Titicaca.  This  is  one  of  tlie  two 
railroads  that  Henry  Meiggs  (whom  I  used  to 
know  in  California)  extended  through  the 
clouds  across  the  Andes ;  the  MoUendo,  Are- 
quipa  and  Puno  road,  crossing  the  Andes  at  an 
altitude  of  14,660  feet,  about  400  feet  higher 
than  that  of  the  Lima  and  Oroya  road. 

At  Mollendo,  300  miles  south  of  Callao,  I 
opened  a  field  for  a  combination  of  preaching 
and  school- work,  and  subsequently  appointed 
to  it  Eev.  Magnus  Smith  and  his  wife.  Broth- 
er Smith  was  a  graduate  of  Williams  Col- 
lege, Mass.,  and,  having  studied  in  Germany 
also,  was  a  good  German  scholar.  He  had 
symptoms  of  lung  disease,  but  knowing  of  per- 
sons similarly  afflicted  being  restored  to  health 
and  long  life  in  South  America,  and  the  climate 
of  Mollendo  being  very  mild  and  equable,  I 
took  the  risk  of  sending  him,  being  a  man  of 
unostentatious  but  of  very  superior  talents  and 
attainments,  with  a  wife  to  match. 

For  a  time  his  health  improved,  and  he  was 
very  hopeful ;  but  he  became  iU,  and  while  in 
that  condition  Mollendo  was  bombarded  by 
the  Chilian  gun-boats,  and  poor  Brother  Smith 
was  hastily  caiTied  a  distance  of  two  miles  to 


254  Self-Supporting-  Missions. 

get  him  beyond  the  range  of  the  guns.  The 
shock,  in  his  low  state,  if  it  did  not  cause  his 
death,  at  least  hastened  it,  for  he  fell  asleep 
in  the  arms  of  Jesus  soon  after.  The  utter  be- 
reavement and  desolation  of  his  wife  can  be 
better  imagined  by  some  of  the  widows  of  our 
civil  war  than  can  be  described  by  me.  But 
the  Lord  took  care  of  her,  and  she  returned 
home  to  her  friends. 

2.  Tacna,  Peru,  a  town  of  about  14,000 
inhabitants,  39  miles  inland  by  rail  from  Arica, 
the  port  of  entry,  with  an  Andean  elevation  of 
2,000  feet,  and  reputed  to  be  a  healthy  site. 
Not  finding  any  English  people  there  to  whom 
we  could  preach  directly,  I  arranged  to  found 
a  school  of  high  grade,  to  which  I  sent  Eev.  A. 
P.  Stowell,  Mrs.  Stowell,  and  Miss  Cora  B. 
Benson. 

During  the  first  year  they  made  a  good  suc- 
cess in  school-work,  for  which  they  received 
$2,400,  but  they  wrought  too  hard.  Brother 
Stowell,  a  very  rugged,  powerful  man  when 
he  graduated  in  theology  from  the  Boston 
University,  was  taken  down  with  pneumonia, 
and  was  told  by  the  doctors  that  he  must  die. 
He  said  that  if  he  must  die  he  would  prefer  to 
die  at  sea  than  remain  there.     Sister  Stowell 


Outlook  m  South  America.         255 

was  also  sick,  but  not  thought  to  be  danger- 
ously ill.     Dear  Brother  Stowell  was  carried  on 
a  stretcher,  and  laid  on  a  bed  in  the  rail-car, 
prepared  by  his  native  friends,  and  conveyed 
thirty-nine  miles  by  rail  to  Arica,  and  four  men 
carried  him  aboard  ship  and  laid  him  down  to 
die,  but  on  the  voyage  he  rallied,  and  rapidly 
improved.      Dear  Sister  Stowell,  however,  be- 
came  very  ill.     She  had  weak  lungs  and  con- 
sumptive  tendencies,  and  now  she  went  into  a 
rapid  decline.     I  providentially  met  them  in 
New  York,  and  heard  the  report  of  their  work, 
and  helped  them  in  their  homeward  journey. 
Two  weeks  after  Sister  Stowell  got  back  to  her 
mother's,  she  died  in  the  Lord,  and  went  to  a 
better  home  in  heaven.     She  was  a  most  lovely 
Christian  woman. 

Sister  Cora  B.  Benson  became  the  private 
tutor  in  the  family  of  a  member  of  our  Board 
of  Education,  and  remained  in  Tacna  for  a 
couple  of  years  or  more,  till,  in  consequence  of 
the  war,  the  family  she  was  in  had  to  leave 
Peru  and  take  refuge  in  Chili,  and  Cora  re- 
turned to  her  home  in  Boston. 

I  immediately  sent  Prof.  Humphrey  and 
wife  to  resume  the  work  in  Tacna.  They  got 
through  Arica  the  day  before  that  port  was 


256  Self-Stjpporting  Missio^s^s. 

closed  by  the  blockading  fleets  of  Chili.  They 
had  a  successful  term  in  the  school,  and  re- 
ceived $200  per  month  for  their  work.  By 
that  time  the  besieging  armies  of  Chili  were  ad- 
vancing for  the  siege  of  Tacna,  so  that,  by 
mutual  consent  of  my  School  Board  and  the 
teachers,  it  was  thought  best  to  suspend  the 
re-opening  till  the  war  should  close. 

Brother  and  Sister  Humphrey,  noble  and 
effective  Christian  teachers,  went  on  to  Chili, 
and  helped  to  found  our  college  in  Santiago. 
His  health  afterward  was  enfeebled  and  they 
returned  home. 

3.  Iquiqiie.  It  has  a  population  of  about 
12,000,  and  is  located  on  the  coast  about  500 
miles  south  of  Callao.  Here  I  opened  an  ex- 
tensive field  for  preaching  the  Gospel  to  hun- 
dreds of  English-speaking  people.  I  also 
arranged  for  a  school. 

I  stationed  Eev.  J.  W.  Collyer  at  Iquique, 
and  he  wrought  like  an  Apollos,  both  in 
preaching  and  teaching.  I  sent  his  sister  Edith 
to  assist  him,  and  that  was  then  the  most 
promising  field  we  had  in  South  America. 
They  also  opened  a  field  for  work  at  Pasagua, 
50  miles  north  of  Iquique,  but  the  blockade 
suspended  every  thing  and  my  dear  people  had 


Outlook  in  South  Amebic  a.         257 

to  get  out  as  quickly  as  they  could.  So  they 
went  to  Chili  and  opened  a  new  field  at  Lota, 
some  300  miles  south  of  Valparaiso.  They 
were  succeeding  in  Lota,  but  Dr.  Trumbull,  of 
Valparaiso,  was  taken  ill,  and  his  people  voted 
him  a  year's  leave  of  absence,  and  called 
Brother  Collier  to  sup]3ly  his  place,  w^hich  he 
did.  Sister  Edith  held  the  fort  alone  at  Lota 
for  many  months.  She  joined  class  in  Con- 
cepcion,  and  though  she  had  to  come  30  miles 
to  class-meeting,  she  was  in  regular  attendance. 
She  afterward  gave  up  Lota  and  became  a 
teacher  in  our  college  in  Santiago,  and  about  a 
year  or  more  ago  she  died  with  the  small-pox, 
but  fell  asleep,  O,  so  sweetly,  in  the  arms  of 
Jesus  !  She  was  a  saintly  little  lady,  beloved 
by  all  who  knew  her. 

4.  A]ST0FAGASTA,  Bolivia.  Bolivia  and  Chili 
had  a  dispute  about  their  boundary  line,  in- 
cluding the  mines  and  town  of  Antofagasta, 
which  led  to  the  war.  This  was  a  very  im- 
portant field,  both  for  preaching  and  school 
work.  I  stationed  there  A.  T.  Jeffrey,  B.A., 
and  his  good  A^^ife,  who  were  getting  a  fair 
stai-t  in  their  work  when  he  was  taken  ill,  and 
before  he  recovered  sufficiently  for  work  the 
place  became  so  involved  in  the  war  that  they 


258  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

were  obliged  to  leave.    They  went  on  to  Chili, 
and  have  been  in  the  work  there  ever  since. 
I  also  made  arrangements  for  occupying 

5.  Pabellon  de  Pica, 

6.  HuANiLLOS,  in  Peru,  and 

7.  ToKAPiLLA,  in  Bolivia. 

As  the  clouds  of  war  were  gathering  over 
the  coast  I  was  in  doubt  about  the  possibility 
of  occupying  all  o£  them,  but  sent  J.  P.  Gilli- 
land  and  wife  to  enter  into  any  of  those  fields 
that  might  be  open  to  them.  They  had 
wrought  as  successful  evangelists  in  Illinois 
and  Texas  for  two  or  three  years,  and  were 
ready  to  go  with  Jesus  anywhere.  But  arriv- 
ing at  Callao  they  learned  that  the  whole  coast 
of  Peru  and  Bolivia  was  blockaded.  Then 
they  went  to  work  among  the  seamen  in  that 
port  a  while,  but  soon  found  a  better  field  in 
the  guano  fleet  at  Lobos  Island,  north  of 
Callao.  They  wrought  daily  among  the  sea- 
men aboard  the  ships,  and  many  professed  to 
find  the  Saviour.  After  lal^oring  there  for 
many  months  the  blockaders  came  and  dis- 
persed the  fleet.  Then  Brother  and  Sister 
Gilliland  rented  a  house  in  the  city  of  Lima 
large  enough  for  a  congregation  of  60  or  more, 
and  went  into  gospel  work.     They  were  gather- 


Outlook  in  South  America.         259 

ing  a  little  congregation,  and  would  have  got 
a  footing  but  for  the  war.  The  sailors  had 
given  them  money  enough  to  put  them  on  a 
year  in  Lima,  even  if  they  should  get  nothing 
there,  so  they  were  prepared  for  a  siege.  But  as 
the  Chilian  armies  neared  the  city  the  excite- 
ment of  the  people  became  so  great  that  nothing 
could  be  done  to  advance  the  work,  and  a  last 
offer  of  escape  to  foreigners  came  eight  days 
before  the  city  was  captured,  and  they  em- 
braced their  opportunity  and  took  ship  for 
Chili.  My  stations  in  Peru  and  Bolivia  were 
the  most  promising  fields  we  then  had  by  far, 
and  all  open  for  preaching  except  Tacna,  w^ith 
abundant  resources  for  self-support  in  every 
place,  and  easy  of  access  in  all  except  one,  and 
that  was  improving,  but  we  lost  the  whole  of 
them  by  the  war;  but  of  our  13  heroic  mission- 
aries who  did  not  die  or  have  to  return  to  the 
States  through  sickness,  all,  except  Cora  Ben- 
son, went  on  to  Chili  and  got  new  fields  and 
adequate  support. 

8.  Our  next  field  was  Copiapo,  Chili,  forty 
miles  by  rail  from  Caldera,  the  port  town. 
Copiapo  is  one  of  the  principal  towns  of  the 
province   of    Atacama.     The   whole    province 

contains  a  population  of  69,000  natives,  besides 
17 


260  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

547  who  are  put  down  as  English.  This  was  an 
open  field  for  both  preaching  and  school-work. 
I  stationed  here  Eev.  Lucius  C.  Smith,  B.  A., 
and  his  wife.  He  was  a  classical  graduate 
from  Baldwin  Univei'sity,  and  a  theologue 
of  Boston  University,  and  a  good  preacher. 
He  learned  to  preach  in  the  Spanish  language 
in  nine  months,  besides  his  school- work  and 
regular  English  preaching.  In  a  few  months 
his  wife  went  down  under  typhoid  fever  and 
died.  A  very  healthy  town,  and  not  troubled 
with  fevers,  but  the  Lord  took  the  dear  sister 
to  heaven.  Lucius  was  nearly  crushed  with 
bereavement  and  desolation. 

His  widowed  sister,  Mrs.  Vasbinder,  also  a 
graduate  of  Baldwin,  promptly  volunteered  to 
go  and  assist  her  bereaved  brother  in  his  work, 
and  I  sent  her. 

Then  our  exiles  from  Lima,  Brother  and  Sis- 
ter Gilliland,  joined  them  in  Copiapo.  Later 
Brother  Smith  married  again.  The  five  of  them 
are  in  the  field  pushing  the  battle. 

Miss  Whitfield,  the  preceptress  of  our  female 
college  in  Santiago,  in  a  letter  to  my  secretary, 
Mrs.  Anderson  Fowler,  speaking  of  the  work 
at  Copiapo,  says :  "  Mr.  Smith,  one  of  Mr.  Tay- 
lor's men,  is  doing  a  grand  work  among  the 


Outlook  m  South  America.         261 

natives.  He  spoke  and  preaclied  in  their  lan- 
guage perfectly  in  ten  months.  He  is  a  mag- 
nificent man,  counting  nothing  a  sacrifice.  He 
has  won  over  very  many  to  the  Protestant 
faith." 

9.  CoQuiMBO,  containing  a  population  of 
about  1,300,  is  the  principal  commercial  center 
of  the  province  of  the  same  name,  containing  a 
population  of  58,000,  of  whom  800  are  English. 
Here  I  opened  up  a  field  for  a  big  circuit,  no 
school-work  at  the  start.  I  stationed  Rev.  J. 
W.  Higgins,  B.  A.,  a  single  man.  He  labored 
hard  there  for  three  years.  Near  the  end  of 
that  term  he  wrote  to  me,  saying :  "  You  made 
a  wise  selection  in  a  committee.  They  have 
raised  the  money  themselves,  paid  all  the  run- 
ning expenses,  paid  up  my  salary,  and  have 
$1,500  in  the  treasury,  and  $100  more  in  the 
Sunday-school  treasury."  Many  persons  pro- 
fessed conversion  under  the  able  ministry  of 
Brother  Higgins.  He  organized  Fellowship 
Bands,  Sunday-school,  and  prayer-meetings,  but 
did  not  see  his  way  to  attempt  the  organization 
of  a  Methodist  Church. 

In  India  I  found  it  much  easier  to  get  people 
to  receive  Jesus  and  become  Christians  than  to 
become  Methodists.     We  go  among  a  class  of 


2G2  SELF-SuppoKTiisra  Missions. 

people  wlio  know  but  little  about  the  Method- 
ists, except  what  they  have  heard  against  them. 
Sometimes  we  fall  in  with  backslidden  Method- 
ists ;  but  as  a  rule  they  don't  help  us  much. 

10.  Valparaiso,  a  city  of  about  100,000  pop- 
ulation. I  preached  there  for  Dr.  Trumbull  in 
1849,  on  my  way  as  a  missionary  to  California. 
He  has  been  laboring  in  that  city  ever  since. 
He  has  a  good  church  property  and  large  con- 
gregation, and  a  church  organization  styled 
"  Union  Church." 

There  is  also  an  English  Church  in  that  city 
— a  small  German  Church,  and  a  Presbyterian 
Mission  Church  for  natives,  under  their  mission- 
ary, Rev.  Mr.  Merwin. 

So  I  did  not  see  my  way  to  attempt  any 
separate  work  ashore,  but  went  into  the  fleet 
and  arranged  a  provision  for  the  support  of  a 
minister  for  the  seamen  of  that  port.  I  then 
called  a  meeting  of  the  ship-masters  who  had 
subscribed  the  funds,  and  we  organized  the 
"Valparaiso  Seamen's  Evangelical  Society." 
On  my  nomination  they  elected  Rev.  Dr.  Trum- 
bull, president,  and  Mr.  James  Blake,  secretary, 
being  both  permanent  residents;  other  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  were  men  of  the  sea. 
James  Blake  is  an  earnest  Wesleyan  Methodist, 


Outlook  in  South  America.         263 

but  tliere  being  no  Churcli  of  his  own  denomi- 
nation in  South  America,  lie  had  become  a 
member  of  Dr.  Trumbull's  Union  Church. 

I  appointed  to  this  charge  Rev.  Ira  H.  La 
Fetra,  B.A.  He  did  a  good  work  there  for 
about  a  year,  and  got  an  adequate  support, 
and  then  gave  place  to  our  refugee  from 
Bolivia,  Rev.  A.  T.  Jeffrey. 

That  work  is  developing  well.  I  heard  the 
fame  of  its  soul-saving  success  away  along  the 
west  coast  of  Oregon  and  Washington  Terri- 
tory, in  my  journeys  and  labors  there  last 
winter. 

11.  CoNCEPCiON,  a  town  of  about  30,000  pop- 
ulation, ten  miles  inland.  Here  I  arranged  to 
found  a  school,  with  the  expectation  of  an 
early  provision  additional  for  gospel  work 
among  the  English-speaking  people,  to  whom 
I  preached  a  couple  of  sermons  while  I  was 
there.  I  engaged  to  send  a  man  and  wife  to 
commence  a  high-grade  school.  We  got  a  sub- 
scription of  nearly  $1,000  to  initiate  the  move- 
ment, of  which  $500  was  to  be  sent  to  'New 
York  to  pay  the  passage  of  the  teachers.  From 
all  the  places  named  the  transit  money  was  to 
be  collected  and  forwarded  to  Nelson  &  Phillips, 
805   Broadway,  New  York,   for  the  outward 


264  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

passage  of  my  missionaries.  I  secured  the  sub- 
scriptions, and  had  a  committee  in  each  place 
elected  by  the  subscribei^  to  collect  and  apply 
the  funds  according  to  written  articles  of  agree- 
ment. It  was  one  of  the  conditions  of  success 
that  I  should  not  only  proceed  on  principle 
No.  1  as  a  pioneer,  but  that  they  should  clearly 
see  that  to  be  the  fact  in  the  case.  Having 
laid  a  basis  of  faith  for  them  in  me,  on  a  plain 
gospel  principle,  I  had  such  faith  in  them  that, 
without  a  dollar  in  hand,  I  returned  to  Boston, 
and  had  about  a  dozen  first-class  men  and 
women  getting  ready  to  sail  for  South  America 
before  a  remittance  came  to  hand. 

The  first  draft  I  received  was  from  my  Roman 
Catholic  friends  in  Tacna,  for  the  passage  of  a 
man  and  wife  to  that  city,  $436  95,  but  by 
the  same  mail  I  received  a  letter  from  the 
chairman  of  my  committee  in  Concepcion, 
stating  that  he  feared  that  this  movement  would 
raise  a  row  between  the  two  great  political 
parties  of  the  country,  and  being  a  merchant, 
his  business  would  be  imperiled,  and,  there- 
fore, he  had  ordered  my  collector  not  to  collect 
the  subscriptions.  That  slip  indicated  plainly 
the  necessity  of  a  transit  fund  at  home,  and 
from  that  time  I  have  allowed   friends,  who 


Outlook  m  South  America.         265 

desired  to  do  so,  to  give  something  for  tlie  pas- 
sage of  my  missionaries ;  and  I  hurried  round 
and  sold  books,  and  managed  to  get  enough  for 
steerage  passage  for  my  learned  and  refined 
people. 

Failing  to  find  a  suitable  man  and  wife  for 
Concepcion,  I  found  an  able  young  man,  William 
A.  Wright,  Ph.B.,  and  two  young  ladies,  Sal- 
lie  Longley,  and  Lelia  H.  Waterhouse,  and 
sent  them  on  to  Concepcion.  Their  arrival 
was  a  great  surprise  to  my  English  friends  in 
that  city  ;  their  astonishment  was  equaled  only 
by  their  indignation  against  me  for  sending 
them  teachers  after  receiving  the  letter  fore- 
closing the  whole  movement,  as  they  supposed. 

Brother  Wright  said  they  could  look  at  their 
subscription  book  and  articles  of  agreement 
with  Mr.  Taylor,  a  plain  business  transaction 
between  two  parties,  which  cannot  honorably 
be  dissolved  without  the  consent  of  both  par- 
ties. Mr.  Taylor  has  so  far  fulfilled  his  part  of 
the  agreement,  and  expects  you,  as  gentlemen 
of  business  integrity,  to  fulfill  your  part.  So 
the  English  people  were  in  a  great  dilemma 
and  no  small  trouble.  Many  of  them  were 
anxious  for  the  school,  but  the  idea  of  a  possi- 
ble collision  between  the  two  parties  of  the 


266  SELF-SuppoRTma  Missions. 

natives  terrified  them.  Meantime  my  dear  peo- 
ple went  to  a  native  hotel  and  took  boarding 
for  a  month,  and  w^aited  for  the  development 
of  events. 

Soon  the  Intendente — mayor  of  the  city — 
who  had  subscribed  $50  on  my  application, 
when  he  heard  of  two  Englishmen  who  had 
also  subscribed  $50  each,  declining  to  pay  the 
money  or  favor  the  work,  he  said,  "Put  me 
down  for  $150,  this  thing  has  got  to  go  in." 

Meantime  the  organ  of  the  Church  party 
opened  fire  against  the  new  movement,  and 
were  going  to  sweep  it,  as  with  a  besom,  out 
of  the  country. 

Quickly  the  organ  of  the  Liberal  party 
responded  on  behalf  of  the  new  movement, 
silenced  the  guns  on  the  other  side,  and  put 
my  people  on  a  plane  of  effective  work,  which 
opened  up  grandly. 

It  has  had  severe  reverses,  not  from  any  lack 
on  the  paii:  of  our  native  friends  and  patrons, 
but  by  sickness  of  one,  and  necessary  subse- 
quent absence  of  another,  and  the  planting  of 
a  rival  mission  along  side  of  us,  (to  which  of 
itself  we  raised  no  objection;)  but  our  work 
there  lives  and  grows. 

The  institution  is  called  Wesleyan  Academy. 


Outlook  in  South  America.         267 

It  has  done  good  work  under  many  disabilities. 
It  is  now  manned  by  Eev.  A.  T.  Jeffrey,  A.M., 
and  wife,  and  Rev.  G.  M.  Jeffrey,  B.A.,  Misses 
Esther  L.  Spink,  Martha  Boyce,  and  Mary  E. 
Elkins,  besides  some  assistant  teachers  whom 
they  have  raised  up  from  their  own  school. 
The  health  of  Miss  Longley,  who  had  become 
Mrs.  Wright,  having  broken  down  by  disease 
and  hard  work.  Brother  Wright  and  she  had, 
greatly  against  their  will,  to  return  to  the 
States  in  about  a  year  from  the  time  they  went 
out. 

Miss  Lelia  H.  Waterhouse  remained  and 
worked  and  prayed,  and  by  her  heroic  faith 
carried  the  movement  through  all  its  struggles 
and  perils  for  nearly  four  years;  but  from 
broken  down  health  is  now  on  her  homeward 
voyage  round  Cape  Horn.  If  the  Lord  has 
sent  out  a  more  genuine  missionary  to  any  land 
in  the  last  hundred  years  than  is  Lelia  H. 
Waterhouse,  the  fact  has  not  come  to  my 
notice. 

We  have  regular  preaching  in  Concepcion,  a 
small  Sunday-school  and  class,  and  have  had 
some  very  clear  conversions.  The  two  broth- 
ers Jeffrey,  are  nearly  broken  down  in  health 
by  close  application  to  their  school,  and  their 


268  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

hearts  being  more  on  tlie  ministry  alone  as 
their  life  calling,  I  will  relieve  them  at  their 
own  request  as  -soon  as  I  can  get  the  men 
of  God's  choosing  to  fill  their  places  in  the 
academy. 

12.  Talcahuano,  the  sea-port  of  Concepcion, 
is  at  the  southern  terminus  of  over  four  hun- 
dred miles  of  railroad,  via  Santiago,  the  capital, 
to  Valparaiso.  I  arranged  to  put  a  man  at 
Talcahuano  to  found  a  school  and  preach  to 
seamen  and  the  few  English-speaking  people 
on  shore,  but,  owing  to  a  series  of  disappoint- 
ments and  delays,  the  Concepcion  school  ab- 
sorbed its  principal  school  interest,  and  it  was 
thought  best  to  suspend  our  plans  indefinitely. 
The  passage  money  sent  was  refunded  to  the 
parties  who  gave  it. 

18.  Lota,  the  field  opened  and  occupied  for 
a  season  by  Rev.  J.  W.  and  Miss  Edith  Coll- 
yer,  is  some  30  miles  south  of  Talcahuano. 

14.  The  German  Colonies.  They  are  in  the 
region  round  about  the  city  of  Valdevia  and 
Lake  Llanquehua,  near  the  northern  border 
of  Patagonia.  There  are  nearly  a  dozen  of 
them  and  widely  scattered. 

I  could  not  in  my  limited  time  open  those 
fields,  but  on  the  representation  of  a  German 


Outlook  in  South  America.         269 

Bible  colporteur,  wlio  visited  them,  I  sent  two 
live  Dutclimen,  Rev.  Henry  Hofmann  and  wife 
and  Rev.  Oscar  Krouser,  to  open  a  field  tliere  if 
they  could.  Three  of  those  colonies  I  learned 
had  each  a  Lutheran  minister  from  Germany ; 
but  my  men  went  to  the  waste  places,  and  for 
a  time  they  seemed  to  get  on  grandly,  many 
of  the  people  coming  out  from  the  world  in 
penitential  tears,  and  seeking  the  Lord  in  old- 
fashioned  Methodist  style,  and  professed  to  ob- 
tain peace  mth  God;  but  after  some  months 
of  wonderful  apparent  progress,  some  of  the 
ministers  from  the  Vaterland  under  a  deep 
sense  of  duty,  no  doubt,  went  round  and  raised 
the  cry  of  "mad  dog"  against  the  Methodist 
intruders.  A  terrific  storm  of  persecution  en- 
sued. Their  indigenous  supplies  were  cut  off 
and  their  lives  were  imperiled.  Brother 
Krouser  left  and  came  back  as  far  as  Valpa- 
raiso, and  was  appointed  to  succeed  Brother 
Jeffrey  in  the  seamen's  work  in  that  city, 
Brother  Jeffrey  having  gone  to  take  William 
Wright's  place  in  Concepcion.  Brother  Krou- 
ser is  a  most  enthusiastic  worker,  and  has  had, 
according  to  report,  many  seamen  and  some 
landmen  converted  to  God.  He  and  his  wife 
receive    from    seamen    and    citizens    of    Val- 


270  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

paraiso  a  stipend  of  $1,500  a  year,  on  which 
they  can  live  comfortably. 

Brother  and  Sister  Hofmann  stood  their 
ground  till  recently,  when,  on  account  of  the  ill- 
ness of  Sister  Hofmann,  they  returned  to  the 
States,  and  he  has  been  transferred  to  one  of 
the  German  Conferences  of  the  West.  He  is  a 
man  of  good  appearance,  of  tremendous  earnest- 
ness, and  never  fails  to  bring  some  of  his  hear- 
ers to  an  avowed  surrender  to  God  by  his 
preaching,  and  Sister  Hofmann  is  a  noble,  self- 
sacriiicing  woman  and  a  faithful  witness  for 
Jesus.  If  I  had  any  German  work  available  I 
would  not  consent  to  part  with  them. 

Brother  Hofmann  left  an  organized  Methodist 
society  of  33  converted  Germans,  most  of  them 
from  Romanism,  at  Vulcan,  Puerto  Octal,  north- 
east of  Lake  Llanquehua.  These  represent 
six  Roman  Catholic  and  two  Protestant  fami- 
lies. He  left  this  little  flock  in  the  wilderness 
under  the  care  of  a  young  man,  one  of  his 
converts,  Gustav  Konrad,  and  gave  him  a 
Methodist  Discipline  to  guide  him,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  word  of  God.  Brother  Konrad 
holds  regular  services,  class  and  Sunday-school. 
If  this  seed  shall  grow  and  spread  as  we  hope 
it  mil,  then  all  the  outlay  and  toil  expended 


Outlook  t^  South  America.         271 

in  the  movement  will  prove  a  good  investment, 
besides  the  leaven  put  into  the  lump  in  other 
communities. 

15.  Santiago,  the  capital,  has  a  population  of 
about  180,000.  Our  minister,  Mr.  Osborn,  for- 
merly Governor  of  Kansas,  a  very  affable  and 
able  gentleman,  introduced  me  first  to  the 
Minister  of  Justice  and  of  Public  Instruction 
for  the  Nation,  Don  Senor  Miguel  Louis 
Amunategui,  wdth  whom  I  had  an  agreeable 
talk  on  the  educational  interests  of  the  country. 

Mr.  Osborn  next  introduced  me  to  the 
President  of  the  "Lone  Star  Republic,"  His 
Excellency  Don  Senor  Annibal  Pinto.  He  is 
a  man  of  medium  size,  not  corpulent,  but  in 
good,  rounded,  healthy  condition,  smooth  feat- 
ures, keen  black  eyes,  with  an  appearance  of 
great  amiability  and  kindness  of  heart,  and  a 
model  of  simplicity.  He  was  seated  at  his 
desk,  examining  some  documents  as  we  entered, 
but  rose  and  shook  hands  with  us  very 
cordially.  I  explained  the  nature  of  my  work 
in  his  country,  and  he  seemed  pleased,  and  in- 
quired about  some  of  my  j)atrons  in-  Concep- 
cion,  that  being  his  former  home,  and  his  kins- 
man, Major  Pinto,  the  banker  there,  being  the 
treasui-er  of  my  committee. 


272  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

Santiago  was  not  tlien  ready  for  tlie  intro- 
duction of  my  work.  The  Englisli  people  were 
committed  somewhat  to  a  Churcli-of-England 
minister  stationed  there  at  the  time,  and  Mr. 
Osborn,  a  true  friend  of  oui*  work,  advised  that 
it  would  be  safer  for  our  cause  to  wait  for  a 
change  in  the  local  condition  of  things.  I  con- 
curred in  that  judgment,  and  did  nothing  there 
but  "spy  out  the  country."  About  a  year 
later,  when  we  needed  new  fields  in  which  to 
plant  our  fleeing  refugees  from  Peru,  the  En- 
glish minister  resigned  his  charge  in  Santiago, 
and  returned  to  England.  When  he  went  out, 
our  man,  La  Fetra,  from  Valparaiso,  went  in, 
and  since  that  a  congregation  and  a  college  in 
Santiago  have  been  established,  and  are  being 
run  by  my  people.  They  have  regular  preach- 
ing, and  a  Sunday-school.  The  "  Santiago  Col- 
lege ''  has  a  male  and  female  department.  At 
last  advices  they  had  in  the  male  department  57 
pupils,  the  female  95,  and  both  growing  daily. 
Ira  H.  La  Fetra  is  the  preacher  in  charge, 
Millard  Lemon,  is  principal  of  the  male  depart- 
ment, assisted  by  Wm.  Wright  and  vdfe. 
Miss  Addie  H.  Whitfield  is  preceptress  of  the 
female  college,  assisted  by  Misses  Kipp,  Hold' 
ing.  Kinsman,  Ogden,  and  professor  of  music, 


Outlook  in  South  America.         273 

A.  W.  Farwell.  All  these  are  from  America, 
and  besides  these  they  employ  three  or  four 
native  assistant  teachers. 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Fowler  from  Miss  Whit- 
field, dated  April  13,  1882,  she  says:  "The 
Bishop  was  here ;  I  think  he  was  greatly  pleased 
with  the  educational  work  we  had  begun,  but 
at  first  did  not  seem  to  trace  any  very  direct 
religious  bearing.  The  educational  work  itself 
is  a  grand  one ;  but  I  believe,  with  further  de- 
velopment of  our  Church,  that  not  only  the 
enlightening  but  religious  influence  of  our 
work  will  soon  be  mdely  felt.  I  believe,  ere 
long,  there  will  be  in  attendance  on  our  services 
some  of  our  most  liberal-minded  patrons  ;  and, 
as  our  students  become  familiar  with  the  En- 
glish language,  especially  our  boys,  they  will 
go  and  hear  for  themselves. 

"  If  God  prospers  us,  I  believe  it  is  the  work 
of  the  near  future  to  convert  many  of  these 
well-ed  ucated  people  to  the  true  faith.  Through 
the  upper  classes,  among  whom  we  work,  the 
lower  classes  will  be  reached — never  the  upper 
classes  through  the  lower." 

Paul  began  with  the  upper  classes  and 
reached  every  grade;  the  missionary  societies 
begin  with  the  lower,  and  stay  there. 


274  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Miss  Whitfield  adds  :  ^'  Two  young  ladies  in 
our  family  of  boarding  scholars,  one  sixteen, 
with  a  Roman  Catholic  mother,  another  eighth 
een,  both  parents  Catholic,  are  as  truly  con- 
verted as  any  one  I  ever  knew.  Their  conver- 
sion was  through  no  special  endeavor  on  the 
part  of  any  one,  but  simply  by  witnessing  lives 
truer  than  those  they  had  been  accustomed  to 
see,  and  by  seeing  something  of  the  power  of 
Christianity. 

^*  The  very  boys  and  girls  we  are  educating 
will,  I  think,  be  the  foundation  of  a  new 
Church  in  this  Catholic  community." 

This  is  not  only  a  true  preparatory  missionary 
work,  but  the  only  open  highway  to  a  broad 
and  fruitful  plain  on  which  the  families  of 
decided  infiuence,  intelligence,  and  moneyed  re- 
sources reside.  Our  people  here  pay  out  of 
their  earnings  by  tuition,  a  rent  of  more  than 
$2,000  per  year  for  their  college  buildings.  Let 
some  of  our  rich  men  put  up  for  them  good 
college  buildings  and  become  patrons  of  the  in- 
stitution, not  to  endow  it,  nor  to  pay  a  cent  to 
any  professor,  but  to  lay  the  material  founda- 
tion, and  furnish  facilities  for  its  working 
effectiveness,  and  help  to  give  permanence  to  it. 

16.  Guayaquil — ^the  commercial    emporium 


Outlook  in  South  America.         275 

of  Ecuador.  I  sent  a  good  man,  a  graduate  of 
Syracuse  University,  to  commence  the  founda- 
tion of  an  institution  in  this  city,  but  his 
health  failed  and  he  was  obliged  to  return 
home.  I  hope  soon,  by  the  will  of  God,  to 
re-open  our  fields  all  along  that  coast. 

17.  AspiNWALL — it  is  called  there  Colon,  the 
Spanish  of  Columbus.  Poor  old  Christopher ! 
they  might  allow  one  poor  town  to  retain  his 
name.  Colon  has  a  population  of  six  or  seven 
thousand,  largely  made  up  of  West  Indian 
black  people,  a  few  scores  of  English  and 
Americans,  and  quite  a  considerable  Spanish 
population.  I  spent  a  day  there  on  my  way 
home,  and  Peter  Austin,  a  colored  gentleman 
and  business  man  th^e,  whom  T  met  on  my 
way  down,  accompanied  me,  and  we  got  a  sub- 
scription that  warranted  me  in  sending  a  man 
to  Aspinwall  to  preach  the  Gospel.  I  ap- 
pointed to  that  new  charge  Rev.  C.  M.  Bird- 
sail,  B.A.,  and  Lillie  his  wife.  Brother  Bird- 
sail  was  a  scholar,  a  holy  man,  a  good  preacher, 
of  intense  earnestness  and  great  effectiveness. 
He  was  a  hero  ready  for  any  work  in  this 
world  or  in  any  other.  He  was,  however,  not 
sufficiently  afraid  of  that  treacherous  climate. 
He  went  right  in,  preaching  three  times  each 

18 


276  SELF-SuPPORTINa    MlSSIOT^S. 

Sabbath,  morning  and  night  in  the  city,  and  in 
the  afternoon  at  Monkey  Hill,  walking,  through 
the  burning  tropical  heat,  two  miles  out  and 
back,  making  pastoral  calls  by  the  way.  His 
system  was  thus  weakened,  so  that  when  he 
was  struck  with  the  Panama  fever,  so  common 
there,  and  which  has  strewn  all  that  isthmus 
with  the  bleaching  bones  of  hundreds  of 
American  gold-seekers,  he  succumbed  and  died, 
and  went  to  heaven  in  three  or  four  months 
from  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Aspinwall. 

The  dear  brother  said  to  his  wife,  as  he  was 
departing  to  glory,  ^'  Go  back  to  Berea  and 
complete  a  course  in  college,  and  go  again  into 
Brother  Taylor's  work."  She  went  to  school 
there  for  a  time,  and  I -sent  her  to  India,  she 
paying  half  of  her  own  expenses  out.  She  did 
good  work  in  our  Calcutta  girls'  school ;  but  is 
now  the  wife  of  Rev.  O.  Shreve,  our  minister 
stationed  in  Poonah,  India.  She  is  a  faithful 
witness  for  the  Saviour. 

Immediately  after  the  death  of  Brother  Bird- 
sail  I  sent  to  take  his  place  Rev.  E.  L.  Latham, 
of  the  Providence  Conference.  He  organized 
a  Methodist  Church  of  forty  or  fifty  members, 
and  by  funds  raised  partly  there  and  partly  at 
home    he    built   a    large    house    suitable    for 


Outlook  m  South  America.         ^77 

meetings  and  school  on  lower  floor,  and  resi- 
dence of  the  minister  and  family  above,  all  at 
a  cost  of  about  $2,500.  After  three  years  of 
successful  service  there  he  was  followed  by 
Eev^  B.  S.  Taylor,  of  the  Troy  Conference.  He 
dashed  in  under  high -pressure,  teaching  the 
school  commenced  in  Brother  Latham's  time  a 
few  hours  daily,  keeping  up  all  the  regular 
preaching  appointments  in  the  city  and  at 
Monkey  Hill,  and  running  special  revival  serv- 
ices in  a  big  tent  four  nights  per  week.  He 
is  a  graduate  of  Middletown,  a  holy  man,  an 
eloquent  preacher,  but  of  killing,  consuming 
zeal.  He  was  stricken  with  fever,  and  went 
down  to  the  gates  of  death.  The  doctors,  after 
consultation,  gave  him  up  as  a  hopeless  case, 
but  my  man,  Rev.  Richard  Copp,  stood  over 
him  day  and  night,  applying  simple  remedies, 
and,  by  the  mercy  of  God,  pulled  him  through. 
He  and  his  family  are  back  home  now.  He 
has  recovered,  and  is  at  work  in  his  own  Con- 
ference. 

18.  Panama  is  an  old  native  cit}^  with 
about  10,000  people  in  it,  of  whom  a  thou- 
sand are  West-Indian  blacks,  a  few  hundred 
European  and  American  foreigners.  I  pros- 
pected  that  field  but  did  not  attempt  to  open 


278  SELF-SuPPORTINa  MissioiN-s. 

it  in  the  few  hours  I  was  there.  A  little  over 
a  year  ago  I  sent  Rev.  Richard  Copp  to  Pana- 
ma. I  first  made  his  acquaintance  when  he 
was  a  Wesleyan  missionary  in  Jamaica.  He 
is  a  gentleman  of  fine  address,  a  good  preacher, 
an  indomitable  worker,  with  a  brick-kiln  con- 
stitution that  can  stand  the  torrid  heat.  He 
now  works  Panama  and  Aspinwall  as  one  cir- 
cuit for  the  present,  and  I  am  trying  to  find  a 
young  man  who  can  stand  fire  to  join  him  as 
junior  preacher. 

19.  San  Jose,  the  capital  of  Costa  Rica, 
Central  America.  I  did  not  personally  open 
that  field.  Mr.  Morrell,  the  American  consul 
at  San  Jose,  on  his  way  home  on  a  visit,  met 
Brother  Latham  at  Aspinwall,  who  told  him 
of  me  and  my  methods  of  missionary  work. 
So  when  Mr.  Morrell  arrived  in  New  York  he 
tried  to  find  me,  but  failed,  for  the  reason  that 
I  was  not  there ;  but  later,  in  Washington  city, 
he  saw  a  notice  in  a  daily  paper  that  I  was  to 
lecture  that  night  in  Wesley  Chapel.  At  the 
close  of  the  lecture  he  introduced  himself  to 
me,  and  asked  an  interview.  It  was  a  very  hot 
night  in  the  early  summer  of  1880,  so  I  took 
him  to  a  nice  clean  ice-cream  saloon,  and  or- 
dered a   couple  of  plates,  and  we  talked  mis- 


Outlook  in  South  America.         279 

sionary  business.  The  consul  claimed  to  be 
only  an  outsider,  and  did  not  believe  much  in 
ecclesiastical  buncombe,  but  he  wanted  a  good 
practical  common-sense  preacher  for  San  Jose,  a 
scholar  but  not  a  pedant,  and  said  if  I  could  find 
a  man  to  suit  him  he  would  give  him  every 
facility  possible  for  getting  into  work.  I  went 
off  soon  after  to  Brazil,  and  did  not  send  him  a 
man  till  June,  1881.  The  consul  writes  me 
that  he  thinks  the  man  I  sent  fills  the  bill  per- 
fectly— Kev.  John  E.  Wright,  a  holy,  harmless 
young  man,  who  will  do  an  immense  amount 
of  work  without  undue  excitement  or  wear,  and 
has  perfect  health.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Law- 
rence University,  of  Wisconsin.  His  principal 
business  is  to  preach  the  Gospel,  but  recently 
he  has  added  school  work,  and  wants  an  assist- 
ant, whom  I  hope  soon,  the  Lord  willing,  to 
send. 

20.  Greytown,  Nicaragua,  Central  America. 
Brother  Latham,  from  Aspinwall,  has  just  com- 
menced to  open  that  interesting  field. 

21.  Para,  Brazil,  a  city  of  about  30,000  in- 
habitants, the  commercial  emporium  of  the 
Amazon.  It  is  located  on  the  south  bank  of 
the  river  Para,  some  eighty  miles  distant  from 
the  Atlantic  Ocean.     I  went  there  in  June  and 


280  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

took  witli  me  Kev.  Justus  H.  Nelson,  M.  A., 
and  his  wife,  and  Walter  Gregg,  a  graduate 
from  Delaware,  Ohio.  I  stopped  there  a  couple 
of  weeks  and  opened  the  way  for  a  college  for 
the  natives,  there  being  no  English  families 
in  that  city,  though  some  English  business 
men.  Brother  Gregg,  after  a  few  months,  went 
to  work  on  his  own  account,  with  our  consent, 
teaching  English  in  the  native  schools,  while 
Brother  Nelson  is  going  on  to  build  up  a  fine 
institution  for  God  and  Methodism.  I  sent  Miss 
Hattie  Curtis,  from  Michigan,  to  assist  him.  She 
could  not,  of  course,  speak  the  language,  but 
being  familiar  with  the  school-room,  she  ]3roved 
herself  from  the  start  a  valuable  monitor,  and 
did  good  service  till  a  young  scientist  exploring 
in  those  waters  won  her  affections ;  then  followed 
an  engagement,  which  brought  her  home  again. 
She  would  have  made  a  successful  worker  for 
God  had  she  remained  as  she  began.  She  had 
perfect  health  all  the  time. 

In  June,  1881,  I  sent  additional  recruits  to 
Para — Rev.  John  N.  Nelson,  B.A.,  brother  to 
Justus,  Miss  Hattie  Batchelder,  a  graduate  of 
Kent's  Hill  College,  Maine,  and  Miss  Clare 
Blunt,  a  graduate  in  music  from  the  same  in- 
stitution.     Brother   Nelson   wrote   repeatedly 


Outlook  m  South  America.         281 

that  he  was  delighted  with  his  new  workers, 
for  they  were  "•  eating  the  Portuguese  language 
and  going  in  splendidly." 

In  August  the  yellow  fever  struck  down 
John  Nelson  and  Hattie  Batchelder,  and  gave 
them  a  sudden  exchange  from  Para  to  Paradise. 
It  seemed  a  mysterious  and  shocking  thing,  and 
I  thought  the  dear  Nelson  family,  in  Appleton, 
would  be  crushed  almost  to  despair  by  this  be- 
reavement ;  but  soon  I  received  a  letter  from  a 
still  younger  brother,  James  Willet  Nelson,  say- 
ing, "  I  suppose  that  you  have  heard  that  Hattie 
Batchelder  and  brother  John  have  been  pro- 
moted, and  John's  place  is  vacant.  If  you  have 
no  better  man  to  put  into  it  than  I  am  send 
me.  I  would  like  to  stay  and  graduate  next 
spring,  but  a  diploma  is  nothing  compared  with 
the  demands  of  the  work  of  God  in  Para,  so  I 
can  be  ready  to  start  on  short  notice.  Father 
and  mother  both  consent  to  my  going.  Father 
wept  when  I  first  talked  to  him  about  it. 
He  said,  '  It  is  like  filling  up  the  broken  ranks 
in  battle,  but  if  you  feel  it  your  duty,  my  son, 
go,  and  may  God  bless  you.' " 

Soon  after  this  letter  from  James  Willet,  I 
received  a  letter  from  Justus  H.  Nelson,  his 
brother,  at  Para,  saying  that  the  survivors  of 


282  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

their  party  were  all  well,  and  that  the  work 
was  prospering,  and  that  they  could  hold  the 
fort  and  give  the  time  needed  to  secure  good 
helpers  for  him.  So  I  wrote  James  W.  to  remain 
and  finish  his  college  coui'se  and  go  out  in  May. 
Meantime  he  selected  a  good  assistant  teacher 
to  accompany  him,  and  she  went  as  his  wife. 
They  sailed  from  New  York  for  Para  on  the 
20th  of  May,  1882. 

22.  Peenambuco,  Brazil ;  the  native  name  is 
Racief,  the  capital  of  the  Province  of  Pernam- 
buco,  but  the  capital  usually  bears  the  name 
of  the  province.  Its  harbor  is  not  sufficiently 
deep  for  the  largest  vessels,  but  is  well  pro- 
tected by  an  immense  circling  reef  forming 
the  harbor  like  a  great  sea-wall.  The  con- 
fluent mouths  of  two  rivers  added  to  this  sea- 
harbor,  aiford,  all  together,  a  safe  anchorage  for 
a  large  fleet  of  ships,  constituting  it  a  great 
maritime  city,  of  about  100,000  inhabitants, 
located  in  the  island-like  segments  and  circles 
of  the  mainland,  intersected  by  the  two  rivers. 
These  are  spanned  by  bridges,  and  street  cars 
and  railways  traverse  the  city  and  the  region 
round  about. 

Having  made  arrangements  for  founding  a 
school  to  be  developed  into  a  college,  I  sent,  as 


Outlook  lis  South  America.         283 

founder  and  principal,  William  T.  Robinson,  a 
local  preacher,  and  tlie  son  of  a  traveling 
minister  in  the  Iowa  Conference.  William  T. 
Robinson  was  a  graduate  of  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, Iowa,  and  was  for  ^ve  years  a  professor 
in  that  institution.  He  subsequently  graduated 
in  the  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  but 
becoming  wholly  sanctified  to  God  he  felt  it 
his  duty  to  devote  his  life  specially  to  God  in 
a  mission  field. 

I  requested  him  to  select  his  own  assistants 
for  school  work,  of  missionary  character,  and 
capabilities  measuring  up  to  our  standard.  He 
selected  two  young  men  and  their  wives,  all 
classically  educated,  and  apparently  every  way 
suited  to  the  work.  Thinking  that  he  might 
not  require  so  many  at  the  start  I  sent  one 
couple  to  open  a  field  in  Maranham,  which  I  had 
prospected  but  not  opened,  except  to  engage  a 
prominent  man  to  use  his  influence  on  our 
behalf.  They  made  a  hopeful  commencement, 
but  the  brother  was  prostrated  with  illness  for 
a  time,  then  rallied  and  went  on  with  his  work 
for  a  while,  but  got  discouraged,  and  they  came 
home. 

The  pair  at  Pernambuco,  assisting  Brother 
Robinson,  had  fine  health  and  displayed  fine 


284  SELF-SuppoRTma  Missions. 

capabilities,  but  becoming  dissatisfied  and 
homesick,  tliey  also  returned. 

23.  Bahia,  the  capital  of  a  province  of  the 
same  name,  a  city  of  180,000  people,  is  located 
mostly  on  a  high  plateau  about  three  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  level  of  the  harbor.  Trav- 
elers, for  the  most  part,  ascend  from  the  lower 
to  the  upper  and  principal  city  by  an  immense 
steam  elevatoi'. 

I  made  arrangements  in  Bahia  also  for  found- 
ing, the  same  as  in  Pernambuco,  only  not  so 
complete.  I  sent  as  pioneers  a  brother  v^ho 
w^as  a  successful  doctor  in  medicine,  his  wiie 
also  a  graduate  in  medicine.  They  thought  it 
their  duty  to  devote  their  lives  in  foreign  vs^ork 
for  God.  It  was  all  well  meant,  but  they  were 
not  skilled  as  teachers,  and  satisfied  themselves 
that  they  were  not  likely  to  make  a  success, 
and  did  the  next  best  thing,  which  was  to  re- 
turn and  resume  the  business  to  which  they 
were  specially  adapted. 

There  is  just  this  severe  test  at  the  very 
doors  of  my  self-supporting  work :  if  by  mis- 
take we  send  persons  who  are  not  able  or 
persistently  willing  to  make  a  success  on  this 
line,  they  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  quit. 

The  proportion  of  good  people  in  this  world 


Outlook  m  South  America.         285 

who  could  make  a  self-supporting  success  on 
our  principles  is  very  small,  yet  large  enough 
to  plant  such  missions  among  all  the  self- 
supporting  people  of  all  the  nations  of  this 
globe  before  I  leave  it. 

In  this  school  work  the  difficulty  is  not  in 
founding  a  school,  even  without  funds  to  start 
with,  as  we  do,  but  for  men  and  women  to  go 
into   a   purely  Koman    Catholic   country,  not 
knowing  the  language  of  the  people,  and  with- 
out funds,  to  found  a  Protestant  school,  secur- 
ing by  a  written  article  of  agreement  with  the 
patrons  the  right  to  read  the  Scriptures  and 
pray  in  the  school,  and  preclude  the  priests 
from  it,  and  proceed  in  founding  also  a  Sunday- 
school  in  each  place,  and  teach  the  people  to 
sing  our  salvation  hymns ;  that  may  indicate 
the  human  impossibility  we  undertake  to  do  in 
each  case ;  and  never  in  any  field  I  have  opened, 
not  counting  Maranham,  have  we  had  a  square 
back  down,  except  this  one  of  Bahia,  and  that 
we  expect,  the  Lord  willing,  again  to  occupy. 

Many  have  returned  from  my  fields  from 
sickness,  occasioned  largely  from  overwork, 
but  from  all  other  causes  just  eight  out  of 
a  hundred  and  seventeen  I  have  sent  out  in 
the  last  six  years  and  a  half.     All  the  mission- 


286  SELF-SuppoETii^a  Missions. 

aries  I  sent  to  India  for  several  years  Avere 
purely  for  the  work  of  tlie  ministry.  It  is 
more  recently  that  the  Lord  has  led  me  into 
educational  work,  especially  in  South  America, 
that  being  the  best  possible  way  of  gospel 
access  to  the  upper  classes,  and  through  them 
to  the  masses  of  all  grades.  So  I  have  to  learn 
to  select  suitable  teachers,  combining  the  edu- 
cational and  missionary  qualifications  requisite. 
At  first  I  had  the  impression  that  almost  any 
devoted  Christian  man  or  woman  with  a  good 
classical  education,  a  graduate  from  a  first-class 
college,  could  certainly  found  a  primary  and 
develop  it  into  a  high-grade  institution  of 
learning ;  but  I  have  found  out,  in  this  school 
of  experience,  that  unless  a  young  man  or  lady 
take  native-born  teaching  talent  into  a  col- 
lege, they  will  not  bring  any  away  with  them 
when  they  return  with  their  diplomas  in  hand. 
So  I  shall  acquire  skill  in  the  business  of 
selecting  school-teaching  missionaries  by  prac- 
tice in  the  business.  Happily  the  transit  ex- 
pense to  Brazil,  whence  so  many  have  returned, 
is  light  compared  with  that  of  other  fields. 

24.  Eio  DE  Jai^eieo,  the  capital  of  the  Em- 
pire, is  a  very  great  city,  stretching  over  hollows, 
hills,  and  mountain  slopes.    In  prospecting  this 


Outlook  in  South  America.         287 

city,  I  found  that  the  English  field  for  missions 
was  preoccupied.  I  had  not  the  time  at  com- 
mand to  make  definite  arrangements  for  a  school, 
but  secured  the  co-operation  of  able  men  resi- 
dent there  to  assist  any  whom  I  might  send  to 
get  a  footing. 

I  had  a  pleasant  interview  with  the  Emperor, 
and  explained  the  object  of  my  mission,  and 
my  measure  of  success  in  arranging  for  work  in 
his  country. 

He  said,  '^  Cannot  you  furnish  me  these  things 
in  writing,  so  that  I  may  give  them  due  con- 
sideration ? " 

^^Yes,  your  majesty,  I  have  the  pleasure  of 
placing  in  your  hands  a  copy  of  my  prospectus 
and  articles  of  agreement  with  the  people  of 
Para,  Pernambuco,  and  Bahia." 

I  then  passed  the  documents,  beautifully 
written  on  clear,  thick  paper  in  the  Portuguese 
language,  into  his  hands.  So  in  those  coun- 
tries we  have  done  nothing  in  a  corner  or  on 
the  sly. 

In  June,  1881,  I  sent  Wray  Beattie,  Ph.D. 
and  M.D.,  accompanied  by  George  W.  Martin 
and  wife,  to  commence  an  educational  work  in 
Eio  de  Janeiro,  leaving  it  discretionary  with 
themselves  to   stop  at   Pernambuco  and  help 


288  Self-supporting  Missiois-s. 

Brotlier  Eobinson  till  they  could  get  the  Por- 
tuguese language,  or  proceed  directly  to  their 
destination.  They  reached  Pernambuco  at  the 
nick  of  time  to  fill  the  places  vacated  by  the 
departure  of  the  helpers  Brother  Robinson  had 
brought  with  him,  and  rendei'ed  most  effective 
service  in  helping  him  to  found  his  "  Americano 
do  Collegio." 

Dr.  Beattie  is  a  man  of  great  learning  and 
versatility  of  talent,  and  reputed  to  be  the 
best  educator  in  Iowa.  He  would  have  made 
a  grand  success  in  Rio,  but  his  health  broke 
down  the  first  year,  and  he  found  that  his  con- 
stitution would  not  stand  the  heat  of  the  torrid 
zone.  It  was,  I  believe,  the  greatest  disap- 
pointment of  his  life  to  forego  the  purpose  for 
which  he  had  gone  out,  but  he  was  obliged  to 
retire  from  the  field  to  save  his  life. 

Brother  Martin  still  remains  with  Brother 
Robinson.  Their  gross  receipts  from  tuition  fees 
the  first  year  were  $5,200,  which  paid  cuiTent 
expenses,  and  gave  a  small  dividend  of  profit  to 
the  workers.  They  have  entered  their  second 
year  with  an  increase  of  boarders  and  pupils, 
and  brightening  prospects.  I  have  appointed 
to  Pernambuco  Prof.  George  B.  Nind,  son  of 
Mrs.  Mary  Nind,  a  lecturer  and  traveling  secre- 


Outlook  it^  South  Amekica.         289 

taiy  of  the  Kortli-west  brancli  of  our  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society.  George  is  a  lioly 
young  man,  a  professor  of  insti^umental  and 
vocal  music,  and  goes  out  to  found  a  music 
department  in  our  college.  He  sailed  the  13tli 
of  May.  I  have  also  appointed  Prof.  Koose  and 
wife,  both  graduates  of  M'Kendree  College, 
in  Illinois,  to  the  same  college,  who  sailed  the 
20th  of  June,  1882. 

It  will  not  be  four  years  till  next  August 
since  the  advance-guard  of  this  movement 
entered  South  America,  and  I  have  not  been 
able  to  revisit  a  single  field  opened.  It  seems 
to  be  a  part  of  God's  arrangement  that  my 
heroic  men  and  women  shall  learn  self-reliance, 
utter  self-abnegation,  and  implicit  trust  in  God 
without  having  me  or  any  body  else  in  the  way 
of  God's  discipline.  From  the  extraordinary 
and  unforeseen  tribulations  through  which  they 
have  passed,  we  may  be  assured  that  God  is 
preparing  them  for  great  struggles  and  grand 
achievements  among  the  nations  of  South 
America. 

Discounting  all,  who,  from  whatsoever  dis- 
ability, and  from  death,  have  I'etired  from  the 
front,  twenty-one  men,  and  twenty-four  ladies 
— forty-five — besides  many  native  helpers,  re- 


290  Self-Suppoetiis-g  Missions. 

main,  and  all  are  supported  by  the  people  they 
serve.  We  simply  pay  their  passage,  and 
furnish  a  meager  outfit.  If  the  Lord  should 
add  to  our  transit  a  building  or  loan  fund,  so 
that  we  could  relieve  them  in  part  of  the  enor- 
mous rents  they  have  to  pay,  it  would  be  econ- 
omy of  life  and  labor  far  exceeding  in  value 
the  extra  amount  of  outlay,  without  ever  in- 
fringing our  principle  of  self-support  by  giving 
a  dollar  of  salary.  The  availability  of  adequate 
resources  for  our  self-supporting  work  in  South 
America,  which  is  only  commencing,  is  no  longer 
a  question  with  my  men  there.  The  only  ques- 
tion is  in  the  adaptation  and  patient  toil  of  the 
workers.  Most  of  our  ladies,  and  all  our  men 
at  the  front  in  South  America,  are  classical 
graduates  except  four,  and  their  lack  in  that 
respect  is  fully  compensated  by  practical  effect- 
iveness in  their  work. 

A  high  missionary  official  said  to  me  a  few 
weeks  ago,  in  a  foregone  -  conclusion  way, 
"Your  schools  in  South  America  can't  do 
missionary  work.  We  will  have  to  send  men 
to  preach  to  the  natives." 

Keply,  "  I  have  no  business  in  South  America 
short  of  the  conversion  of  the  natives,  and  on 
a  grand   scale,  and  under  the  peculiarities  of 


Outlook  in  South  America.  291 

those  nations  I  am  employing  the  best  pos- 
sible means  to  that  end." 

Our  Missionary  Society  has  had  a  trial  of 
46  years  in  Argentina  and  Uruguay,  31  of 
those  years  among  the  English  before  they 
commenced  a  mission  among  the  natives.  Now 
they  seem  to  think  I  am  so  dreadfully 
slow  in  my  work  in  South  America  that  my 
only  hope  of  reaching  the  natives  is  to  let 
them  absorb  my  work,  and  go  in  to  do  the 
business.  Hands  off,  gentlemen ;  give  us  a  trial 
of  46  years,  and  then  we  will  hear  what  you 
hav^e  to  say  on  the  subject  of  self-supporting 
missions. 

I  only  mean  to  intimate  the  superior  ex- 
pansive aggressive  force  of  God's  primary 
principles  and  methods  of  self-supporting  work. 
I  would  not  in  any  way  depreciate  the  great 
work  accomplished  by  our  Society  in  those  46 
years,  and  as  an  index  to  it  I  here  insert  their 
last  table  of  statistics  taken  for  the  annual 
report  of  1881.  I  have  made  no  inquiry  as  to 
the  expenditure  of  missionary  money  beyond 
the  $12,000  of  last  November,  and  would  not 
say,  nor  allow  myself  to  think,  that  a  dollar  had 
been  inappropriately  applied. 

19 


Ti3k  ^  Co.Engy's  N.  1*. 


Present  Force  at  the  Front.       295 

PRESENT  FORCE  AT  THE  FRONT. 

This  Mission  opened  in  Jan.,  1872  ;  organized 
as  South  India  Conference,  Nov.,  1876.  This 
showing  dates  to  Nov.,  1881,  embracing  also 
over  three  years  of  work  in  South  America. 

I  have  sent  to  India  from  America,  within 
about  six  and  a  half  years,  fifty  missionaries — 
thirty-six  men  and  fourteen  women.  Not  one 
of  these  has  died  a  natural  death — one  dear 
brother  fell  through  a  ship's  hatch  in  Bombay 
harbor  and  was  killed;  not  one  of  these  has 
brought  any  reproach  on  the  cause  of  God  by 
an  immoral  act  or  sinful  word ;  not  great  men, 
but  good  and  true  to  God  and  man.  Of  the 
fifty,  six  only  have  returned  to  America — ^ve 
men,  under  medical  advice,  and  one  woman, 
to  take  care  of  her  sick  husband. 

Besides  these  missionary  workers,  we  have 
57  local  preachers  of  Indian  birth,  who  support 
themselves  and  preach  almost  daily  in  the 
churches  and  in  the  bazaars.  All  these  are 
backed  up  by  over  2,040  lay  members,  who  are 
workers  also,  and  who  pay  the  running  expenses 
of  the  whole  movement.  By  reports  dating  up 
to  May,  1882,  we  have  540  native  members  and 
probationers — onefoui-th  of  our  membership. 


296 


Self-Supporting  Missions, 


Places. 
Bombay  and  Madras 
Bombay  : 

Grant  Eoad 


Fort 

Mazagon 

Maratti  Circuit 

General  Native  Work 


Poonah  and  Lanowlee, . 


Egutpoora  . . 

Ahmedabad. 
Bliosawul... 


Nagpore  . 

Madras  : 
Vepery. 


Blacktown 

Bangalore  : 
Eiclimondtown. 

St.  John's  Hill 


Tamil  Circuit, 


Bellary 

Secunderabad.. 
Chadarghat.. 
Colar  Mission, 
Conoor 


Telugu  Miss,  at  Pram'r. 
Calcutta  District,  J 


Calcutta. 


Names.  Nattonalitt.      No, 

Districts,  D.  0.  Fox,  P.  E.     United  States. 

j  J.  A.  Northrop "  " 

I  Mrs.  J.  A.  Northrop "  " 

,  .Supplied  by  local  preachers.     "  " 

•  W.  H.  Stephens "  " 

..  George  Bowen "  " 

..W.J.  Gladwin,  A.  C.Gilruth    "  "  7 

rO.  Shreeves "  " 

I  Mrs.  0.  Shreeves "  " 

\  W.  £.  Bobbins " 

I  Mrs.  W.  E.  Bobbins India. 

[a.  S.  E.Vardon "  5 

j  A.  G.  Frazer Scotland. 

(  W.  H.  Bruere United  States.      2 

..A.  A.Baker "  "  1 

..G.  II.  Greenig "  "  1 

(  T.  F.  Morton India.  1 

I  Mrs.  T.  F.  Morton "  2 

JT.H.  Cakes " 

(  Mrs.  Sallie  Stephens United  States. 

j  John  Blackstock "  " 

■j  Mrs.  John  Blackstock India.  4 

(C.W.Christian " 

"j  Mrs.  C.  W.  Christiim Scotland. 

j  D.  H.  Lee United  States. 

■j  Mrs.  D.  H.  Lee India. 

r  L  A.  Eichards United  States. 

J  Mrs.  I.  A.  Eichards "  " 

1  B.  Peters India.  8 

t  Mrs.  B.  Peters " 

j  W.  A.  Moore " 

■j  Mrs.  W.  A.  Moore "  2 

(  F  G.  Davis United  'States. 

(  Mrs.  F.  G.  Davis "  "  2 

(  E.  E.  Carter "  " 

1  Mrs.  E.  E..  Carter "  "  2 

(  S.  P.  Jacobs "  " 

1  Mrs.  S.  P.  Jacobs "  "  2 

(  L  F.  Eow "  " 

1  Mrs.  I.  F.  Eow India.  2 

f  C.  B.  Ward United  States. 

1  Mrs.  C.  B.  Ward "  " 

[  Miss  O'Leary India. 

[  D.  0.  Ernsberger United  States.      4 

M.  Thoburn,  Presiding  Elder.  United  States. 

r  Mrs.  J.  M.  Thoburn United  States. 

J.  S.  Stone " 

C.A.Martin "  " 

Mi-s.  C.  A.  Martin "  " 

J.A.Wilson "  " 

[.MissM.E.  Layton "  " 


13 


Present  Force  at  the  Froj^^t.       297 

Places.  Names.  Nationality.      No. 

Calcutta : 

Bengalee  Church P.  K.  Nath India. 

(G.I.Stone United 

Lai  Bazaar ^  Mrs.  G.  I.  Stone " 

(  Vernon  E.  Bennett " 

Hastings ]  yt  ^'/''^'^Y t  'I 

^  I  Mrs.  L.  R.  Janney India. 

Tamiipore  Circuit W.  A.  Thomas  "  i 

Saidpore  Circuit J.  P.  Meik ' ."     "  i 

r  J.  E.  Robinson United  States. 

Rangoon Ur '•  i' %   w^"'''''' " 

^  I  Miss  E.  H.  Warner "  " 

[  H.  Jaeobsen India.  4 

Allahabad  District,  D.  Osborne,  Presiding  Elder.     India. 

Allahabad -i  Jf^'  B'  i^«^l°^°® I"dia. 

I  Miss  M.  B.  Spence United  States. 

Jubulpore W.  D.  Brown "  3 

Khanclvva J.  D.  Webb .'.United  States. 

Mhow C.  W.  D'Souza India. 

^gr^,.V  •: W.  T.  G.  Curties India. 

Sf^^dikui M.  B.  Kirk United  States. 

Meerut G.  K.  Gilder India. 

Roorkee i  ^^  ^P^J^??" United  States. 

•  •  ■  ]  Mrs.  W.  Bowser "  "  2 

Musoorie -i  i  ^^?''- ' --t t   '.' 

]  Mrs.  James  Lyon India.  2 

Lahore (  James  Sb aw     Ireland. 

(  Mrs.  James  Shaw India.  2 

Kurrachi i  JJ"  Y;/^^%^-  •  •  v United  States. 

(  Mrs.  M.  Y,  Bovard "  "  2 

Total  at  the  front  in  India 80 

Absent  on  leave:  William  Taylor,  W.  E. 
Newlon,  William  B.  Osborn,  and  Mrs.  William 
B.  Osborn  : 

William  Taylor,  founding  missions  in  Soutli 
America;  William  B.  Osborn  and  wife,  evan- 
gelizing in  Australia;  W.  E.  New^lon,  most 
anxious  to  return  to  India,  but  his  health  is 
not  yet  sufficiently  restored ;  he  is,  however, 
doing  nearly  effective  ministerial  work  in 
Kentucky. 


298 


SELF-SuPPOETINa    MlSSIOJS^S. 


Places. 
Chili: 


South  America. 

Names. 


Nationality.     No. 


Copiopo 


Coquimbo. 
Valparaiso , 


Santiago, 


Concepcion 


U.  S.  OF  Columbia  : 

Panama  and  Aspinwall. 

San  Jose,  Cent.  Amer. . 
Grey  Town 

Brazil  : 


{Lucius  C.  Smith United  States. 

Mrs,  Luciiis  C.  Smith "  " 

Mrs.  Vasbinder "  " 

J.  P.  Gilliland "  " 

Mrs.  J.  P.  GilUland "  " 

J.  W.  Collier "  " 

Mrs,  J.  W,  Collier "  " 

Miss  Eachel  Holding "  " 

Oscar  Krouser "  " 

Mrs,  Oscar  Krouser "  " 

n.  H.  LaFetra "  " 

Millard  Lemon "  " 

W.  A.  Wright "  " 

Mrs.  W,  A.  Wright "  " 

Miss  Addie  H,  Whitfield  . . ,  "  " 

Professor  Farwell "  " 

Miss  Lizzie  Kipp "  " 

Miss  Kinsman "  " 

Miss  Ogden "  " 

^  Miss  Lizzie  Holding "  " 

'  A,  T,  Jeffrey United  States. 

Mrs,  A,  T.  Jeffrey "  " 

George  M.  Jeffrey "  " 

Miss  Esther  L.  Spink *'  " 

Miss  Martha  Boyce "  " 

^Miss  Mary  E,  Elkins "  " 

(EichardCopp "  " 

\  Professor  Eouse "  " 

..John  E,  Wright "  " 

.,E.L,  Latham "  ^ 


Para. 


Pemambuco, 


f  J,  H.  Nelson 

Mrs.  J    H.  Nelson..., 

I  J,  W.  Nelson 

1  Mrs.  J.  W.  Nelson 

Miss  Clare  Blunt 

[  Walter  Gregg 

rW.  T.   Eohinson 

Mrs.  W.   T.  Eobinson. 

G.  W.  Martin 

Mrs.  G.  W.  Martin  . . . 

G.  B.  Nind 

F.  F.  Eoose 

Mrs.  F.  F. 


10 


Grand  total 123 


Transit  Fund.  299 


XVII. 
TRANSIT  FXnSTD. 
In  the  commencement  of  this  self-snpporting 
organization  in  Bombay  I  offered,  as  has  been 
stated,  to  give  the  Missionary  Committee  and 
their  administrators  this  important  share  in  the 
movement,  viz. :  to  select  and  send  out  and  pay 
the  passage  of  all  the  missionaries  I  might 
require  in  the  progress  of  the  work;  but  to 
send  no  money  for  their  support,  and  exercise 
no  control  over  the  men  or  their  work,  no  more 
than  they  exercise  over  the  New  York  or  any 
other  self-supporting  Annual  Conference.  I  sup- 
posed that  they  consented  to  the  proposal  and  its 
conditions,  for  the  first  year  they  sent  us  two 
men,  the  second  none,  and  the  third  three. 
Then  I  came  home,  and  asked  them  to  send 
twelve  men  immediately,  to  meet  the  growing 
demands  of  the  woi'k.  They  had  an  appropria- 
tion for  it  of  $1,000, 'which  at  that  time  would 
pay  the  passage  of  two  men  to  India,  instead 
of  a  dozen.  They  were  heavily  in  debt  and 
could  not  advance  any  more,  so,  in  a  friendly 
way,  I  withdrew  my  proposal,  and  agreed  to 
ask  them   for    no    more    transit   money,    and 


300  SELF-SuppoRTmG  Missions. 

have  stuck  to  my  agreement.  It  was  arranged 
that  the  said  thousand  dollars  should  be  used 
to  pay  the  passage  of  my  out-going  missiona- 
ries that  year  as  far  as  to  London,  and  I  would 
pay  their  passage  thence  to  India  out  of  my 
own  hard  earnings  by  selling  ray  books;  that 
was  in  1875,  and  from  that  till  1878  I  worked 
away  on  that  line,  refusing  to  receive  a  dollar 
from  America,  except  pay  for  books,  lest  I 
might  tap  or  appear  to  tap  the  resources  of  the 
Missionary  Society.  This  responsibility  struck 
me  on  my  way  home  to  see  my  family  after  a 
separation  of  about  seven  years ;  and  two  and 
a  half  years  of  the  hardest  work  and  wear  of 
ray  life  stood  between  me  and  my  dear  wife 
and  children.  But  my  work  in  India  had  to 
be  supplied  with  missionaries,  and  I  bent  to  it 
through  great  discouragements  six  days  per 
week  for  over  two  years,  and  sent  on  the  men  and 
women.  My  friends  in  India  and  Henry  Reid, 
of  Tasmania,  gave  me  a  liberal  lift  and  saved 
me  from  embarrassment.  "Then,  just  before  I 
went  to  South  America,  Brother  Chauncey 
Shaffer,  of  New  York,  voluntarily  offered  to 
pay  the  passage  of  a  missionary  to  India; 
Andrew  K.  Rowan,  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey, 
made  a  similar  offer.     I  needed  the  men  and 


Trai^sit  Fund.  301 

had  not  the  money  of  my  own  to  spare,  and 
allowed  the  two  brethren  to  pay  the  passage  of 
two  missionaries  to  India ;  but  I  regarded  those 
as  exceptional  cases.  So  in  my  proposals  to 
outsiders  and  Koman  Catholics  of  South  Amer- 
ica to  send  them  preachers  and  teachers,  the 
iirst  condition  was  that  they  should  pay  their 
passage,  and  I  did  not  intend  that  our  people 
in  the  United  States  should  be  allowed  to  put 
a  dollar  into  the  movement;  but  I  now  saw 
that  it  was  God's  will  that  I  should  receive 
passage  money  from  home;  first,  from  the  fail- 
ure in  a  few  places  to  send  the  passage  money 
in  time,  and,  second,  by  the  fact  that  was  com- 
ing to  view  that  vast  resources  for  self-supjjort 
could  be  struck  by  men  on  the  ground,  tliat 
could  not  be  drawn  out  in  advance  for  passage 
money  for  people  the  donors  knew  nothing 
about.  So  I  kindly  notified  our  Missionary 
Secretaries  that  T  had  tried  the  principle  of 
self-denying  expediency,  of  refusing  to  let  my 
friends  help  me  pay  the  passage  of  my  mission- 
aries, long  enough,  and  would  from  that  date 
fall  back  on  the  fundamental  principle  of  my 
original  platform,  of  allowing  any  who  so 
desired  to  contribute  to  pay  their  passage  and 
furnish  their  needed  outfit. 


302  SELF-SuppoETiNa  MissioN^s. 

I  then  opened  a  little  book  in  wMch  to 
record  the  names  and  amounts  of  persons  wish- 
ing to  invest  in  that  way.  The  following  is  a 
copy  of  its  preface : 

Transit  Passage  Fund  for  Self-Supporting 
Missions. 

To  the  Patrons  and  Friends  of  Education  and  of  Evan- 
gelization :  As  the  founder  of  Self-Supporting  Missions 
and  Schools  in  India,  which  now  support  thirty  minis- 
ters, and  call  for  ten  more  this  year,  I  appeal  to  your 
generosity  to  help  send  the  men  required. 

I  have  recently  opened  twelve  centers  of  self-sup- 
porting educational  and  evangelistic  work  in  Peru, 
Bolivia,  and  Chile,  West  Coast  of  South  America, 
requiring  fifteen  preachers  and  teachers.  The  people 
whom  they  are  to  serve  guarantee  their  support  and 
most  of  the  passage  money  required,  but  in  some  cases 
a  subsidy  is  needed. 

I  pay  my  own  expenses  and  work  gratuitously,  but 
need  help  to  pay  the  passage  of  additional  workers  to 
South  America,  and  to  all  lands  in  which  the  currents 
of  commerce  deposit  available  agency  and  resources  for 
self-supporting  missions. 

I  do  not  wish  to  receive  a  dollar  that  would  otherwise 
go  into  the  regular  missionary  treasury. 

This  self-supporting  work  which  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest  is  opening  with  such  success  is  outside  of  all 
Missionary  Societies,  but  not  antagonistic  to  any.  I 
wish  that  the* small  sum  needed  simply  for  passage 
should  be  outside  and  over  and  above  the  contributions 


Transit  Fund.  303 

rightly  claimed,  and  so  much  needed,  by  the  Missionary 
Societies.     On  these  conditions  I  will  thankfully  receive 
and  apply  and  duly  report  the  voluntary  offerings  of  all 
who  wish  to  co-operate  with  me  in  this  work. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

WILLIAM  TAYLOR. 
MroDLETOwN,  Conn.,  May  13,  1878. 

Up  to  that  time,  as  before  stated,  the  Mis- 
sionary Society  had  sent  five  missionaries  to 
my  work,  then  the  $1,000  toward  the  passage 
of  my  men  for  1875  as  far  as  London.  Subse- 
quently they  sent  out  Miss  Terry  to  be  the 
wife  of  Eev.  J.  E.  Robinson,  one  of  the  men 
whom  they  had  sent  to  my  field,  so  that  I  sup- 
pose they  paid  out  passage  money  for  all  these 
to  the  amount  of  about  $4,000.  Brothers 
Shaffer  and  Rowan,  $750.  I  kept  no  account 
of  what  I  gave ;  I  gave  all  I  could  make  and 
save,  and  put  in  what  was  sent  me  from  India 
and  Tasmania  as  well. 

The  flow  of  funds  into  my  transit  depart- 
ment was  by  no  means  rapid  nor  adequate  to 
the  style  we  thought  at  least  desirable.  I  had 
a  dozen  highly  educated  young  gentlemen  and 
ladies  ready  to  sail,  and  to  ask  those  young  men 
to  go  steerage,  among  the  cattle  and  dogs,  was 
a  very  humiliating  thing  to  do,  and  all  I  could 


304  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

say  to  them  was,  "  I  can  only  get  money  enough 
to  pi'ovide  a  steerage  passage  for  you.  If  you 
can  subsidize  it  out  of  your  own  pockets,  and 
walk  up  higher,  all  right." 

But  the  dear  young  fellows  had  just  com- 
pleted their  college  course,  and  could  not  find 
it  convenient  to  pay  the  difference,  and  said 
as  I  had  gone  to  South  America  in  the  steer- 
age they  could  do  the  same.  Of  course  they 
could;  heroic  young  fellows!  they  were  ready 
for  any  thing  that  was  right.  But  the  dear 
young  ladies,  half  a  dozen  of  refined  noble 
young  women,  to  allow  them  to  go  steerage! 
O,  my  soul !  I  feel  badly  every  time  I  think 
about  it,  but  I  could  not  help  it.  My  people 
had  to  leave  on  short  notice,  according  to  my 
agreement  with  my  patrons  in  South  America. 

So  I  had  some  circulars  printed,  stating  the 
facts  in  the  case,  and  that  these  people  had  to 
sail  in  two  weeks,  and  that  I  was  a  thousand 
dollars  short  even  for  steerage  passage.  I  was 
really  sending  more  than  I  had  engaged  pas- 
sage for,  and  some  of  the  money  promised  not 
having  come,  I  was  caught.  So  I  got  the 
names  of  twenty-four  of  our  most  wealthy  and 
liberal  givers,  and  wrote  them  on  the  blank  of 
my  circulai's,  explaining   more  fully  the  great 


Transit  Fund.  305 

emergency,  and  respectfully  submitted,  that  if 
it  was  their  pleasure  to  invest  a  small  amount 
in  my  Transit  Fund,  I  would  gladly  recognize 
them  as  patrons  of  the  movement.  My  twenty- 
four  circulars  and  letters  all  went  for  nothing. 
They  did  not  make  a  return  of  one  cent ;  so  I 
threw  my  circulars  away.  An  old  friend  in 
Baltimore  sent  me  $10,  and  small  amounts  kept 
coming  in  unasked.  I  hurried  round  and 
sold  my  books,  and  one  way  and  another  I 
got  them  all  off  without  delay  as  steerage 
passengers. 

I  "assuredly  gathered,"  from  all  the  indica- 
tions bearing  on  the  subject,  that  the  Lord  did 
not  want  me  to  solicit  funds,  but  leave  the  mat- 
ter to  him,  and  I  have  not  asked  for  help  since. 
In  all  my  Journeyings,  preaching  and  lecturing, 
I  have  never  appealed  to  the  people  on  behalf 
of  the  Transit  Fund.  I,  of  course,  give  informa- 
tion to  my  friends  personally  who  want  to  know 
about  it. 

At  a  camp-meeting  at  Mansfield,  Ohio,  in  the 
summer  of  1878,  John  S.  Inskip  and  William 
M'Donald  proposed  that  I  allow  them — either 
in  their  monthly,  "The  Advocate  of  Holiness," 
or  their  weekly,  "  The  Christian  Standard  and 
Home  Journal" — ^to  advertise  my  Transit  Fund 


306  SELF-SuppoETiNa  Missions. 

to  tlieir  readers,  and  to  acknowledge  tlie  receipts 
in  each  issue  of  whatever  might  be  sent  in. 

Such  a  proposal  was  entirely  unsought  and 
unexpected,  but,  coming  as  it  did  in  my  time  of 
need,  for  I  was  hunting  up  and  sending  men  as 
fast  as  I  could,  I  believed  it  was  of  the  Lord, 
and  consented.  So  ^'The  Christian  Standard 
and  Home  Journal "  opened  a  comer  for  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  cheerful  offerings  of  its 
readers  week  by  week,  and  that  resource,  with 
what  has  been  handed  to  me  directly,  has  kept 
the  machine  running  ever  since,  so  that  I  have 
not  had  to  detain  a  missionary  an  hour  for  want 
of  passage  money. 

I  am  not  a  member  of  the  National  Holiness 
Association,  nor  any  other  association,  except 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church ;  but  I  advo- 
cate heart-purity  from  the  daily  experience  of 
it  for  thirty-seven  years,  and  I  advocate  these 
men  of  God  who  are  so  earnestly  helping  to  ful- 
fill the  great  mission  of  Methodism,  of  "  spread- 
ing scriptural  holiness  over  these  lands." 

Besides  passage,  we  have  supplied  each  mis- 
sionary with  a  meager  outfit,  such  as  was  abso- 
lutely needed  for  his  or  her  work.  Those  espe- 
cially who  went  to  found  schools,  not  for  them- 
selves but  for  the  Church  of  God,  it  was  needful 


Transit  Fund.  307 

to  provide  witli  seats,  desks,  blackboards,  globes, 
maps,  etc.  All  tMs  permanent  furniture  is  to  be 
not  individual  but  connectional  property.  I  ar- 
ranged to  get  such  things,  with  the  books  re- 
quired, from  the  original  manufacturers  at  a 
cheap  rate ;  the  cost  of  the  books,  slates,  etc.,  to 
be  sold  to  the  pupils,  we  required  the  principals 
to  refund  as  far  as  possible.  The  missionaries 
who  thus  go  to  found  first-class  schools  in  a 
Eoman  Catholic  country,  not  knowing  the  lan- 
guage, and  having  to  depend  on  the  tuition  of 
schools  to  be  originated,  for  their  rent,  board,  and 
all  current  expenses  from  the  start — not  popular 
schools  open  to  the  priests,  but  Protestant 
schools  precluding  them — such  an  undertaking 
is  above  the  line  of  human  possibilities.  Wise 
ecclesiastics  far  away  take  up  their  telescopes 
and  sweep  the  field  of  vision  along  the  plane 
of  human  possibilities,  and  exclaim,  "We 
cannot  see  how  you  do  it."  No,  indeed,  not  on 
that  plane.     Yet  our  men  do  succeed. 

I  took  Brother  and  Sister  Nelson  with  me  to 
Para,  the  commercial  emporium  of  the  Amazon, 
a  couple  of  years  ago,  and  opened  their  way  to 
found  a  school  for  native  Portuguese  children ; 
not  an  English  family  in  the  city.  Brother 
Nelson  landed,  with  forty  dollars  of  his  own 


308  Self-Supporting  Missioisrs. 

money  in  his  pocket.  The  freights  and  duty 
on  his  school  furniture  amounted  to  a  hundred 
dollars.  He  took  boarding  for  himself  and  wife 
at  a  hotel  at  fifty  dollars  per  month,  rented  a 
hall  for  school  purposes  and  for  preaching  to 
a  few  English  business  men  at  fifty  dollars  per 
month.  I  was  puzzled  to  know  how  the  Lord 
would  put  them  in  there.  I  could  not  help 
them,  for  I  had  scarcely  money  enough  for  my 
pioneer  tour  south,  and  most  of  it  as  a  steerage 
passenger.  But  the  Lord  did  put  them  in,  and 
they  paid  all  their  expenses  the  first  year,  and 
are  going  on  to  build  up  an  institution  for  God. 
But  I  think  that  though  God  has  wonderfully 
helped  us,  it  is  not  his  will  that  we  should  con- 
tinue to  put  so  heavy  a  strain  on  our  pioneer 
founders.  It  endangers  their  lives  and  wears 
them  out  prematurely.  They  are  limited  to  a 
moderate  allowance,  even  of  their  own  earnings, 
holding  in  trust  all  they  clear  above  that  stipu- 
lated amount  to  be  invested  in  real  estate  and 
buildings  for  a  permanent  base  of  their  own 
institutions  and  the  churches  that  will  follow. 
What  ought  to  be  done  is  not  now,  nor  ever  to 
the  end  of  the  world,  to  provide  a  fund  for  the 
payment  of  a  dollar  to  any  man  who  is  able  to 
labor,  nor  hence  to  endow  an  institution  which 


Transit  Fund.  309 

would  amount  to  tlie  same  thing ;  but  to  pro- 
vide greater  facilities  for  more  effective  educa- 
tional work  and  witli  less  wear  of  tlie  workers. 
We  sliould  at  least  pay  half  the  rent  of  the 
buildings  required  for  school  purposes  till  an 
adequate  income  can  be  realized  without  un- 
duly cramping  and  pinching  the  missionaries. 
Or,  better  still,  we  ought  to  have  a  "  building  or 
loan  fund."  Our  people  in  Santiago,  for  example, 
pay  over  two  thousand  dollars  a  year  rent  for 
their  school  buildings ;  now  if  we  could,  even 
as  a  loan,  put  up  buildings  at  a  cost  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  and  receive  their  rent  of  two 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  in  ten  years  the  prin- 
ciple would  come  back,  and  repeat  itself  in 
some  other  city  where  God  is  in  great  want 
of  just  such  an  institution. 

We  want  no  collections,  nor  soliciting  agents 
in  the  field  to  compete  with  the  regular  official 
agency  of  the  Church;  let  the  gifts  of  the  peo- 
ple come  on  as  they  do  now ;  but  give  informa- 
tion to  our  friends  concerning  the  need  of  a 
Building,  as  well  as  a  Transit  Fund,  and  pray  to 
God  for  his  blessing  on  the  gifts  and  the  givers. 

The  Transit  and  BuiLDiNa  Fund  should  be 
under  the  management  of  a  small  committee  of 
laymen,  thoroughly  practical  business  men,  yet 

20 


310  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

men  of  sucli  consecration  to  God  and  liis  self- 
supporting  missions  as  to  join  me  on  principle 
No.  1 — give  their  services  free  of  charge. 

This  wonld  give  greater  breadth,  security, 
and  stability  especially  to  the  educational  de- 
partment of  this  movement.  The  object  of 
the  Transit  Fund  can  be  broadened  a  little,  so 
as  to  make  better  provision  for  the  internal 
work  of  the  institution;  and  the  Building 
Fund  to  assist,  at  least,  in  providing  by  rent,  or, 
if  possible,  by  the  erection  of  suitable  build- 
ings for  our  schools,  both  in  India  and  South 
America.  I  am  sure  the  school  work,  on  strict 
Christian  principles,  is  the  highway,  and  possi- 
bly the  only  way,  of  access  to  the  upper  classes 
of  those  nations,  the  people  who  have  the  brains 
and  the  money  and  the  social  position,  and 
hence  the  influence  that  God  needs  to  control 
the  masses  and  lead  them  to  a  better  life.  We 
can  advance  on  that  line  mth  great  rapidity. 

If  our  friends  will  agree  to  provide  the  pas- 
sage money,  as  they  have  been  doing,  and,  addi- 
tional to  that,  the  buildings,  I  will  pay  my  own 
way  as  hitherto,  and  open  the  fields  and  find 
the  workers,  and  plant  a  Christian  academic 
institution  in  every  city  of  note  in  Central  and 
South  America  inside  of  two  years.     Why  not 


Transit  Fuis-d.  311 

do  business  for  God  as  our  great  railroad  and 
commercial  men  do  for  themselves  ?  I  traveled 
with  a  man  in  South  America  who  was  em- 
ployed by  twelve  manufacturing  establishments 
in  Philadelphia  to  introduce  their  wares  into 
its  principal  cities,  each  firm  allowing  him  $2,000 
for  his  trip  of  one  year  round  that  continent. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  experience  in  his  line, 
and  could  command  those  rates — $24,000  for 
that  year's  work. 

Now,  I'll  go  at  my  own  expense,  and  will  never 
receive  one  cent  of  money  out  of  it,  if  rich  men 
of  God  or  poor  people  will  simply  do  what  I 
propose.  Then  let  our  wealthy  men  of  leisure 
occasionally  go  with  me  to  South  America, 
where  no  voice  of  praise  is  now  heard,  and  see 
thousands  of  children  in  our  Sunday-schools, 
and  hear  them  singing  the  praises  of  Jesus. 
Education  with  us  is  not  an  end,  but  a  means, 
of  preparing  the  way  of  the  Lord,  and  then 
his  glory  shall  be  revealed  in  the  salvation  of 
the  people.  The  Lord  willing,  I  shall  see  it  in 
my  day. 

For  a  full  exhibit  of  Transit  Fund  for  the  four 
years  it  has  been  in  existence,  see  Appendix. 


312  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 


XVIII. 

ORPHANAGES. 

DuEma  the  Madras  famine,  in  which  half  a 
million  of  poor  people  starved  to  death  before 
the  Government  could  get  supplies  to  them, 
Kev.  C.  B.  Ward,  one  of  our  ministers,  traveled 
a  circuit  in  that  region  a  thousand  miles  long, 
with  seventeen  appointments.  The  daily  sight 
of  gaunt  skeletons  of  men  and  women,  more 
dead  than  alive,  with  their  sallow,  projecting 
cheek-bones  and  sunken  eyes,  dying  for  want 
of  food,  and  little  children  lying  round,  and 
huddled  together,  starving  to  death,  and  living 
babes  tugging  at  the  breasts  of  dead  mothers, 
melted  the  preacher's  heart  within  him.  So  he 
began  to  pick  up  some  of  the  dying  children 
whose  parents  had  perished,  and  having  com- 
menced he  proceeded  rapidly.  A  Eurasian 
brother,  A.  C.  Davis,  a  government  civil  en- 
gineer, with  a  good  salary,  joined  Brother  Ward 
in  this  work  of  charity,  and  they  founded  an 
orphanage.  The  two  of  them  gave  their  earn- 
ings, and  received  such  assistance  as  was  sent 
to  them  by  friends  who  knew  their  work  and 
its  needs. 


Orphanages.  313 

At  the  next  Conference  session  Brotlier 
Ward  asked  the  presiding  elders,  no  Bishop 
being  present,  to  release  him  from  English 
work  and  cut  him  loose  from  dependence  upon 
any  English  Quarterly  Conference,  and  allow 
him  to  take  his  orphans  into  the  remote  regions 
of  the  Nizam's  dominions  and  found  a  Telugii 
Mission.  The  place  he  had  selected  as  the 
site  of  his  orphanage  and  mission  was  in  the 
midst  of  a  million  or  two  of  Telugu  Hindus, 
among  whom  no  missionary  had  ever  appeared. 
This  locality  was  so  remote  that  his  nearest 
post-office,  Chadarghat,  is  seventy-five  miles  dis- 
tant. Think  of  a  man  getting  up  in  the  morn- 
ing hungry  for  the  news  or  a  fresh  letter,  and 
then  having  to  go  or  send  seventy-five  miles  to 
the  post-office ! 

Well,  when  Brother  Ward's  application  came 
up  for  consideration,  the  brethren  said,  '^  Brother 
Ward,  how  can  you  live  away  there  in  the 
wilderness  ?  Eemember,  mth  your  own  family 
and  helpers,  you  will  have  the  responsibility 
of  providing  for  eighty-six  persons,  and  no 
money,  and  not  the  guarantee  of  a  dollar  from 
any  source." 

Ward  replied,  "I  have  a  friend.  Brother 
Mather,  a  civil  engineer  in  government  serv- 


314  SELF-SuPPORTINa    MiSSIOK-S. 

ice  out  in  that  region,  and  lie  is  preparing  my 
way.  Among  a  great  variety  of  information  I 
have  received  from  Brother  Mather  about  that 
country,  I  learn  that  it  is  a  great  place  for 
tigers  and  bears  and  panthers  and  wolves  and 
hyenas  and  birds  of  every  feather.  I  have  in- 
quired particularly  of  Brother  Mather  about 
those  animals  of  the  earth  and  fowls  of  the  air, 
whether  there  is  any  manifest  want  or  destitu- 
tion among  them,  or  any  burdened  with  debt, 
or  whether  any  are  grumbling  about  the  hard 
times. 

^'  Brother  Mather  assures  me  that,  so  far  as  he 
has  been  able  to  learn,  all  these  wild  denizens 
of  the  woods  are  well  fed,  they  are  plump  and 
sleek,  buoyant  and  cheerful,  seeming  to  vie 
with  each  other  in  making  the  most  noise  in 
the  spontaneous  expression  of  the  jubilant  life 
that  is  in  them.  So  I  have  considered  this 
matter,  and  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
if  God  takes  such  good  care  of  his  wild  live 
stock  in  that  wilderness,  I  may  safely  trust  him 
with  the  orphans."  So  when  the  appointments 
were  read  out  a  new  appointment  appeared  on 
the  list— "Telugu  Mission,  C.  B.  Ward." 

Removing  far  from  the  place  they  had  occu- 
pied in  a  Mohammedan  tomb,  at  Goolberger, 


ORPHAlSrAGES.  315 

Brother  Ward  was  very  sorry  to  part  with  Ms 
fellow-laborer,  Brother  Davis ;  but  soon  after 
he,  also,  was  removed  by  government  appoint- 
ment (without  reference  to  the  orphanage  how- 
ever) right  into  the  region  to  which  Ward  was 
going,  and  was  off  in  time  to  help  Ward  build 
his  temporary  sheds  as  the  home  of  himself  and 
his  orphans. 

When  their  new  home  in  the  wilderness  was 
prepared  the  orphans  made  a  journey  of  200 
miles  on  foot  to  get  to  it.  The  little  waifs 
walked  ten  miles  a  day,  so  it  took  twenty  days 
of  walking  to  make  the  distance.  I  do  not 
presume  to  give  a  history  of  this  institution;  it 
would  fill  a  volume,  but  I  give  simply  a  few  il- 
lustrative peeps  into  the  lights  and  shades  of 
the  movement.  Some  of  their  children  died ;  a 
few  they  gave  as  seed  for  a  little  orphanage 
started  at  Alichpoor;  forty-seven  of  those  re- 
maining have  been  converted  to  God,  have  been 
baptized,  and  have  made  good  progress  in 
spiritual  growth.  I  here  insert  a  brief  article 
from  the  pen  of  Brother  Ward,  published  in  his 
paper,  "  The  Indian  Methodist  Watchman." 


316  Self-supporting  Missions. 

THE   TELUGU  MISSION. 
Christian   Orphanage. 

The  first  month  of  this  year  has  been  one  of  the  best 
in  our  history.  A  faithful  God  has  supplied  our  every 
want.  He  has  also  given  us  all  good  health  on  the 
whole.  Sister  O'Leary  has  had  fever,  and  perhaps 
needs  a  few  weeks'  change.  Our  spiritual  estate  has 
been  greatly  enriched  and  blessed  day  by  day  all  this 
month.  Daily  meetings  have  been  much  more  inter- 
esting and  we  trust  profitable,  since  so  many  are  now 
able  to  read.  We  found  it  advisable  to  re-arrange  a 
little,  and  we  have  now  two  meetings  a  day  for  those 
who  read  and  two  for  those  who  do  not  read  yet,  and 
to  these  latter  we  assign  a  smaller  portion  for  mem- 
orizing. We  began  January  with  a  series  of  lessons 
to  run  through  at  least  four  months  on  the  life  of 
Jesus.  A  portion  is  selected  containing  from  five  to 
fifteen  verses,  and  among  these  one  is  to  be  memorized 
while  all  is  our  lesson.  Nursa  and  Rama  and  Eraka, 
when  needed,  are  very  acceptable  in  leading  meetings, 
explaining  lessons,  etc.  These  are  our  helpers.  Bless 
God,  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  we  shall  have  a 
number  of  solid  helpers  among  these  "  famine  waifs." 

At  our  meetings  all  who  can  read  round  a  verse  in 
turn  from  their  new  Telugu  Testaments.  Twenty- 
seven  read  nicely  now.  Another  innovation  is  the  in- 
troduction of  what  corresponds  to  family  prayer.  After 
general  prayer  is  over  at  night,  each  Kolcar  gathers  his 
or  her  household  and  has  evening  prayer  with  them, 
just  as  the  head  of  a  family  should  always  do.  We 
want  God's  idea  of  a  Christian  home  enshrined  in  the 


The  Telugu  Missioit.  317 

hearts  and  minds  of  these  children,  and  we  felt  this  was 
one  desideratum.  We  submitted  the  matter,  and  the 
experiment  has  been  a  blessed  success,  and  now  passes 
into  history,  as  one  of  the  daily  habits  of  our  '*  wilder- 
ness church  "  members.     Bless  the  Lord  ! . 

Our  new  quarters  afford  us  more  comfortable  homes, 
better  accommodations.  The  effect  is  seen  in  better 
kept  houses,  cleaner  clothes  and  persons,  and  conse- 
quently a  greater  general  happiness  of  all. 

We  are  giving  more  diligent  attention  to  the  in- 
struction of  the  children,  with  some  success  ;  the  chil- 
dren cease  all  work  and  study  one  hour — from  12  M. 
to  1  P.M.— daily.  We  mean  better  thin  gs  than  this  even 
in  the  future.  This  year  will  complete  the  education 
of  most  of  our  children  in  all  probability.  We  want 
them  well  furnished  in  the  rudiments. 

Of  the  small  piece  of  land  we  took  up,  the  boys,  ten 
in  number,  have  nearly  half  all  cleared.  By  the  rainy 
season  they  will  be  ready  for  some  little  farming.  This 
is  the  beginning  of  their  independence,  and  we  rejoice 
in  it  greatly. 

Brother  Davis  did  not  get  back  to  stay  any  time  with 
us.  But  he  called  one  day,  the  28th.  Brother  Monet 
came  with  him  and  remained  three  days.  He  has 
kindly  entered  in  our  diary  his  observation  and  reflec- 
tions on  our  work.  They  have  greatly  cheered  us,  and, 
though  we  cannot  enter  his  remarks  here,  we  mean  to  do 
so  in  our  "  Third  Report,"  which,  D.  V.,  we  hope  to 
publish  in  April. 

During  this  month  we  have  collected  all  the  timber 
required  for  our  houses.  We  build  economically,  be- 
lieving that  the  Lord  indicates  his  will  in  this  matter 


818  SELF-SuppoKTmG  Missions. 

by  the  amount  of  money  he  sends  us  for  building.  Yet 
we  shall  have  better  homes  than  have  ever  been  occu- 
pied by  many  who  have  been  "  pilgrims  and  strangers  " 
in  this  world.  We  shall  have  more  than  we  deserve 
and  enough  for  comfort,  and  this  is  all  any  one  really 
enjoys.  We  find  we  can  live  without  brick  and  mortar 
and  be  as  happy  as  the  children  of  a  king.  Bless  the 
Lord  !  The  frames  of  our  houses  are  up,  and  they  will 
probably  be  closed  in  by  March  1st. 

We  feel  greatly  our  need  of  help.  But  in  this,  too, 
we  believe  the  Lord  indicates  his  will  by  compelling  us 
to  stay  here  and  train  these  orphans.  How  gladly 
would  we  begin  evangelistic  work  in  the  host  of  vil- 
lages  about  us  !  But  our  hands  are  too  short.  But  the 
Lord  encourages  us  with  the  prospect  of  being  accom- 
panied with  one  or  more  of  our  orphans,  now  young 
men  and  women,  when  we  get  out.  We  are  probably 
where  the  adage  "  Make  haste  slowly  "  is  appropriate. 
But  it  is  often  a  cross  to  heed  this  counsel  now  that 
we  can  speak  the  Telugu. 

January  3d,  and  again  the  5th,  we  were  visited  by 
sharp  showers  of  rain,  since  which  the  heat  has  been 
daily  increasing.  December  ISth  we  had  46°  at  5  A.M.; 
but  now  we  have  it  Q5^  at  the  same  hour,  and  above 
100°  at  midday. 

But  we  are  in  a  land  of  "  corn  and  wine  ; "  so  we  sing 
and  toil  on,  expecting  to  see  a  great  victory  for  the  Lord. 

Brotlier  Ward  displays  a  versatility  of  talent. 
He  is  a  good  Greek  scholar,  and  equally  good 
in  tlie  use  of  ax,  saw,  or  plane,  and,  not  satisfied 
witli  building  an  orphanage  for  Hindu  children, 


The  Telugu  Mission".  319 

lie  lias   added   a  department  for  Eurasian  or- 
phans, called  the 

Christian  Home. 

Children  all  well.  The  last  month  has  witnessed 
marked  progress  on  the  part  of  the  children  in  their 
studies.  Harry  and  Alice  have  mastered  the  112  ques- 
tions of  the  Catechism  No.  1,  which  they  have  recited 
at  breakfast  time  each  day.  Henry,  Ellen  and  Willie 
have  in  like  manner  mastered  68  questions.  Jimmy  and 
Richard  have  conquered  46.  We  have  found  this  a 
good  way  to  have  our  minds  profitably  engaged  at  our 
table.  Ofttimes  the  table  affords  useless  topics  of  con- 
versation and  gossip  as  well  as  food. 

Sister  O'Leary  has  had  the  burden  of  these  children 
all  the  month,  and  somehow  seems  happy  at  it.  I  am 
not  sure  but  she  would  make  a  better  step-mother  than 
she  has  any  prospect  of  being  just  now.  I  have  at- 
tended the  daily  meeting  with  them,  always  profitably. 

Scriptural  safeguards  thrown  around  children  are  of 
immensely  more  benefit  to  them  than  appears  at  first 
glance.  These  children  hold  their  own  evening  wor- 
ship together  as  any  family  would.  The  work  of  the 
Spirit  is  very  manifest  in  Alice. 

The  Lord  remembers  us  with  funds  sufficient.  Our 
cash  balance  is  about  Rs.  200  still.  Constant  contribu- 
tions do  not  allow  it  to  go  down  much.  We  want 
more  children  the  happy  inmates  of  our  "Home.'* 
We  hope  any  one  knowing  of  destitute  East-India 
orphans,  under  twelve  years  of  age,  will  kindly  let  us 
know  of  them.  As  if  to  doubly  encourage  us  in  this 
work  of  working  and  trusting,  the  Lord  has  given  us 


320  Self-supporting  Missions. 

such  a  plenty  of  money  as  we  have  never  before  had 
in  India. 

Yet  at  no  time  have  we  ever  had  much  in  hand.  We 
have  had  abundance  for  ourselves  and  native  orphans, 
and  about  Rs.  600  for  the  '*  Christian  Home." 

Heathenism  is  something  mightier  than  the  ice  mount- 
ains that  smashed  James  Gordon  Bennett's  ship  in  the 
Northern  Ocean.  But  the  Sun  of  righteousness  shall 
honey-comb  the  mighty  thing  and  it  shall  fall  forever. 

How  much  of  a  share  our  "  Children's  Homes  "  shall 
have  in  that  great  demolition  the  Lord  knoweth. 

We  need  a  teacher  for  these  children  alone.  Has 
India  no  daughters  who  love  Jesus  more  than  self  and 
ease,  who  will  say  :  "  Here  am  I,  send  me  ?  "  We  praise 
God  and  go  forward  joyfully.  We  are  thankful  for  fre- 
quent letters  of  sympathy  and  encouragement.  We 
hope  we  may  be  helped  by  the  prayers  of  many  always, 
as  we  believe  we  are  now. 

C.  B.  WARD. 

Christian  Pramoor,  Feb.  1,  1882. 

Query  ?  Is  not  this  a  charity  work,  just  the 
same  as  the  orphanages  and  missions  founded 
by  the  Society  ? 

It  is  in  part  a  charity  work,  but  differs  from 
the  other  in  several  points.  In  the  regular 
way  a  large  amount  of  money  must  be  raised, 
and  buildings  erected  in  a  style  becoming  the 
standing  of  the  home  institution  it  represents. 
Then  an  appropriation  made  by  the  Mission- 
ary Society  to  be  paid  annually.    The  superin- 


The  Telugu  Missioi^.  321 

tendent's  family  and  employees  must  be  in  a 
position  to  maintain  a  respectable  social  stand- 
ing in  society,  so  as  to  command  influence,  and 
draw  all  the  indigenous  patronage  and   help 
they  can  get.     They  are,  of  course,  pious  and 
earnest,  and  do  a  good  work,  but  when  short 
of  funds — and  they  are  often  short — they  pray 
to  the  secretaries  and  Missionary  Committee, 
ten    thousand  miles  farther  away  from  them 
than  the  throne  of  heavenly  grace.     'Tis  said 
"  that  prayers  long  on  the  way  return  the  more 
heavily  freighted  with  blessing,"  but  it  does 
not  hold  good  in  this  case,  as  a  rule,  not  from 
lack  of  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Mission- 
ary Committee,  but  because  they  have  so  many 
prayers  of  similar  kind  spread  out  before  them 
that,  with  their  limited  supplies,  they  have  to 
cut  down,  divide  up  and  distribute  meager]  y, 
according    to    their     best    Judgment.      Their 
little  "  hay-stack  "  in  each  field  is  not  adequate 
to  the  needs  of  the  flock,  and  many  suffer  from 
real  want ;   but   on  their  popular  theory  that 
the  work   of   the   world's  conversion   is    '^  re- 
duced to  a  question  of  dollars  and  cents,"  they 
keep  on  praying  for  the  money  to  be  sent  from 
a  remote  country. 

1.  Ward  and  Davis  did  not  begin  with  brick 


322  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

and  mortar,  but  witli  starving  children.  They 
got  the  use  of  a  deserted  Mohammedan  mauso- 
leum, cleared  out  the  rubbish,  and  fitted  it  up 
as  a  temporary  house  for  their  orphans. 

2.  They  gave  their  own  money  and  wrought 
with  their  own  hands,  and  got  contracts  for 
road  making,  and  put  all  their  boys  and  girls 
who  were  able  to  work  to  earn  a  living. 
Then  and  now  a  part  of  each  day  is  devoted 
to  study  and  religious  services,  and  a  part  to 
hard  work  and  self-support.  Then  whatever 
they  need  for  current  expenses  besides,  God 
furnishes  from  such  resources  and  such  agency 
as  he  has  available.  Once  when  in  need  a 
Mohammedan  sent  them  $25. 

God  thus  sends  along  one  of  his  "  cow-boys  " 
to  put  down  a  little  bundle  of  hay  in  the  prairie, 
and  the  recipients  get  it  and  thank  God,  and 
graze  away  at  the  indigenous  grass,  however 
short  the  picking.  Their  prayer,  "  Give  us  this 
day  our  daily  bread,"  is  not  presented  to  a 
Missionary  Committee  ten  thousand  miles  away, 
who,  like  the  Jewish  high-priest  that  entered 
the  holy  of  holies  but  once  a  year,  are  only 
able  to  answer  such  prayers  annually  in  the 
month  of  November,  but  is  addressed  daily  to 
the  mediatorial  throne  of  Jesus,  and  answered 


The  Telugu  Missioiq^.  328 

the  same  day.  When  assistance  comes  in 
through  Grod's  human  agents,  Ward  cfe  Co. 
often  know  nothing  of  its  human  source,  and 
when  they  do  know  whence  it  came  they  have 
no  assurance  that  any  more  will  come  from 
that  source  ;  so  they  keep  "  looking  unto  Jesus," 
praying  and  praising  daily,  and  meantime 
working  away  with  their  hands.  This  orphan- 
age is  now  about  four  years  old,  and  Brother 
Ward  writes  that  in  all  that  time  they  have 
never  gone  in  debt  to  the  amount  of  a  dollar, 
never  borrowed  a  dollar,  and  never  lacked  a 
dollar  that  they  really  needed,  yet  never  had 
more  than  a  few  dollars  in  their  treasury  at 
one  time. 

The  foregoing  statements  and  comparison  in- 
dicate two  distinct  channels  of  charity.  The 
one  is  in  the  form  of  donations  to  a  charity  insti- 
tution to  be  '' pooled"  and  disbursed  by  "mid- 
dle-men "  agency.  That  is  the  only  way  by 
which,  to  any  considerable  extent,  the  good 
people  of  America  can  build  and  support 
schools  and  orphanages  and  support  mission- 
aries in  remote  heathen  lands,  and  it  is  a  means 
of  grace  to  them  personally  to  engage  in  it 
largely  that  is  worth  more  to  them  than  its 
cost  by  a  hundred  fold,  besides  the  priceless 


324  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

benefit  conferred  on  the  heathen.  The  other  is 
in  the  form  of  gifts  directly  from  the  giver  to 
the  object  without  circumlocution,  leakage,  or 
middle-men  agency. 

For  illustration,  Brother  Frank  A.  Goodwin, 
on  his  way  home  from  his  loved  work  in  Cal- 
cutta to  die,  stopped  a  few  weeks  at  Malta. 
He  often  observed  a  well-dressed  gentleman 
of  very  quiet  demeanor  at  the  table  of  the 
same  hotel  in  which  he  and  his  wife  were  board- 
ing, and  occasionally  met  him  "  in  the  library." 
One  day  this  unobtrusive  stranger  modestly 
approached  Brother  Goodwin  in  the  library, 
saying,  "  Excuse  me,  sir,  but  I  understand  you 
are  a  missionary  returning  from  India,  and  I 
thought  you  might  be  in  want  of  funds,  and  I 
shall  be  happy  to  furnish  you  what  you  need." 

Brother  Goodwin  thanked  him,  and  then 
explained  to  him  the  nature  and  w^ork  of  our 
self-supporting  missions  in  India,  and  added 
that  when  his  health  gave  way  and  he  had  to 
leave  for  home,  his  people  had  generously  pre- 
sented him  with  a  purse  with  adequate  funds 
for  all  his  wants.  And  he  therefore  respect- 
full}^  declined  the  offer. 

The  next  day.  Brother  Goodwin  being  in 
the  library,  this  gentleman  walked  up  to  him 


The  Telugu  Missioi^.  325 

without  a  word,  and  as  though  he  was  going  to 
shake  hands  with  him,  he  put  in  his  hand  a 
twenty-pound  note,  (about  a  hundred  dollars.) 
Without  a  word  they  both  stood  and  wept, 
and  the  stranger  quietly  retired.  And  Brother 
Goodwin  lifted  up  weeping  eyes  and  heart  to 
God  and  thanked  him,  not  so  much  for  the 
money  as  for  the  mysterious  touch  of  the  hand 
of  God  in  it,  and  it  brought  to  his  mind  the 
unfailing  supplies  he  had  received  in  his  seven- 
years'  struggle  in  extending  his  kingdom  in 
India. 

Thus  we  have  indicated  the  difference  be- 
tw^een  a  donation  and  a  gift,  both  right  in  their 
place  ;  but  in  India,  w^here  every  living  Chris- 
tian is  in  daily  association  with  the  heathen, 
hand  and  heart  in  continual  direct  contact,  we 
should  run  our  charity  in  the  second  channel 
I  have  indicated  instead  of  the  first.  We 
want  no  missionary  society  there.  Every 
Church  is  a  missionary  society  for  the  region  in 
which  it  is  set  as  a  beacon  light,  and  every 
member  of  it  a  hand-to-hand  worker  and  giver 
as  God  shall  lead.  Our  self-supporting  mis- 
sions are  doing,  and  will  more  and  more  do, 
a  grand  charity  work  of  the  latter  sort.  Such 
gifts  impart  a  divine  magnetic  thrill  to  both 


326  SELF-SuPPORTINa    MlSSIOlS^S. 

giver  and  receiver,  and  Jesus  makes  this  entry  in 
his  book,  "  Forasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  the  least 
of  these  my  needy  ones,  ye  did  it  unto  me." 

A  peep  into  another  phase  of  the  Telugu 
orphanage  work  may  be  seen  in  the  following 
letter  from  Brother  Ward  in  "  The  Watchman  " 
of  April,  1882  : 

Leaving  Pramoor  February  2,  I  saw  no  more  of 
the  work  till  the  month  had  expired.  Sister  O'Leary 
was  queen  of  the  castle  in  our  absence.  Brother  A.  C. 
Davis,  being  engaged  on  public  work  in  the  vicinity, 
found  it  convenient  to  camp  near  us  a  portion  of  the 
month,  and  outside  of  office  hours  he  has  given  such 
oversight  to  our  building  operations  as  he  could.  He 
has  been  in  also  at  a  number  of  our  meetingrs. 

The  divineness  of  any  benevolence  finds  some  proof 
in  the  persistent  and  ofttimes  fiery  opposition  it  meets 
with  from  the  adversary.  It  has  been  my  lot  to  be 
necessarily  absent  from  the  Orphanage  on  several  oc- 
casions in  the  past.  Satan  has  demonstrated  the  shal- 
lowness of  many  of  his  conclusions  on  these  occasions. 
Once  he  set  his  Mohammedan  allies  to  luring  away  the 
orphans  most  boldly,  but  God  gave  the  victory  to  the 
feeble.  Again  he  stirred  up  the  larger  girls  to  mutiny. 
They  had  always  been  very  loyal  before,  but  now  only  a 
rigorous  hand  brought  the  sister's  victory  again. 

On  my  return  this  time  I  found  he  had  made  tools 
of  some  of  the  larger  boys.  They  had  endeavored  to 
set  at  naught  Sister  O'Leary  and  otherwise  mar  the  con- 
dition of  our  work. 


The  Telugf  Mission.  327 

Brother  Davis'  presence  soon  set  matters  right,  as 
strong  hands  and  strong  faith  are  usually  aj^t  to  do. 

We  were  long  ago  confirmed  in  the  opinion  that  our 
work  in  these  parts,  both  present  and  prospective,  was 
a  thing  unpalatable  to  the  devil,  and  that,  therefore, 
he  would  continually  endeavor  to  break  up  our  work, 
and  us  too  if  he  could.  So  hot  fires,  either  from  with- 
in or  without,  do  not  surprise  us.  Yet  they  show  us 
our  personal  helplessness  and  the  standing  necessity  of 
living  much  in  prayer,  humbly  depending  on  God's 
almighty  arm  hour  by  hour  for  grace  unto  victory.  I 
find  on  my  return  most  things  in  order  and  a  few 
traces  of  difficulties  encountered  here  and  there  still 
appear.  But  if  our  work  is  of  God  nothing  can  de- 
stroy it  unless  we  throw  up  our  commissions  under  the 
great  King  or  take  our  pensions. 

We  bless  God  for  an  inward  victory,  more  and  more 
of  which  we  expect  to  realize  till,  with  crowned  heads, 
we  shout  it  through  the  skies  with  many  who  have 
been  rescued  from  heathenism  in  these  very  parts. 

Under  Sister  O'Leary's  supervision  Rama  Nursa  and 
Eraka  have  done  the  work  of  the  puntulu  whom  we 
dismissed  recently,  while  she  also  has  taught  and  cared 
for  the  East-Indian  orphans  as  well.  The  bands  have 
met  as  usual,  and  the  general  meetings  have  maintained 
something  of  their  wonted  interest. 

Building  movements  had  so  far  prospered  that  we 
were  greeted  with  a  home  decked  with  flowers  when 
we  came. 

I  also  found  two  houses  nearly  ready  for  the  occupancy 
of  the  East- Indian  orphans.  These  houses  are  humble, 
cheap,  comfortable,  and  somewhat  durable.     "We  think 


328  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

a  visit  to  us  would  be  much  more  prepossessing  than 
the  figures  I  might  name  here  would  indicate.  But  we 
want  to  say  we  are  very  happy  in  our  palmyra-roofed 
home. 

In  the  past  our  invitations  have  been  hearty,  but  so 
far  no  friend  has  ventured  to  span  the  distance  between 
us  and  Hyderabad.  Seventy-five  miles  in  a  cart  is  a 
great  distance  in  these  days  of  steam.  However, 
during  our  absence,  two  missionaries  called  and  spent 
a  Sabbath  morning  with  our  orphanage  and  orphanage 
workers.  It  is  said  they  had  a  pleasant  visit  and  were 
somewhat  pleased  with  our  children.  These  missiona- 
ries were  agents  of  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society, 
and  were  spying  out  the  country  for  the  most  advan- 
tageous point  in  the  Yelgundel  District,  Nizam's  Do- 
minions, for  a  mission  station.  A  little  over  two  years 
ago  we  were  led  to  settle  in  this  waste  region  of  the 
Lord's  vineyard,  and  since  that  time  we  have  made 
such  progress  as  we  could,  in  preparation  for  aggress- 
ive mission  work  in  the  country  about  us. 

"We  have  never  regarded  our  possessions  here  exclu- 
sive. We  have  been  somewhat  unable  to  sympathize 
fully  with  the  idea  that  one  may  or  must  have  a  mo- 
nopoly of  all  the  souls  in  fifty  miles  of  him,  so  much  so 
that  they  may  perish  in  heathen  darkness  rather  than 
that  another  man  should  preach  Christ  to  them.  Of 
course,  we  are  not  in  sympathy  with  the  Jesuitical  policy 
that  leads  one  missionary  to  build  up  of  the  converts 
and  workers  he  may  be  able  to  lead  away  from  his 
predecessor's  fold. 

We  are  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  welcoming  our 
Wesleyan  brethren  to  this  district  on  behalf  of  the  Meth- 


The  Telugu  Mission-.  329 

odist  Episcopal  Church,  although  they  are  now  found 
doing  again  the  very  same  thing  they  have  accused  us 
incessantly,  publicly  and  privately,  of  doing.  Our  only 
desire  is  that  they  may  plant  in  these  parts  only  genu- 
ine Methodist  Christianity.  The  heathen  of  these  parts 
spend  enough  on  folly,  sometimes  countenanced  by 
missionaries,  to  pay  the  way  of  a  mighty  gospel  work 
among  them.  We  are  glad  to  have  our  two  youthful 
sons,  Wesley  Asbury  and  William  Taylor,  with  us. 
They  demonstrated  their  ability  to  travel  in  coming 
from  Bangalore  here  in  good  time.  Two  months  for 
them  and  their  mother  in  Bangalore  made  them  fresh 
and  hale-looking.  A  good  man  has  expressed  a  hope 
that  they  may  both  become  Telugu  missionaries  and 
bless  thousands  and  be  blessed  by  the  same.  We 
share  this  hope  with  full  hearts.  We  have  been  glad 
to  find  an  awakening  among  our  people  in  some  places 
we  h^ve  visited  in  our  absence.  Madras  and  Chadar- 
ghat  are  undertaking  as  not  hitherto.  The  Lord  re- 
vive our  people  on  the  line  of  their  responsibilities  to 
the  heathen. 

We  brought  back  with  us  Willie  and  Mary  Smith 
from  Bangalore  as  recruits  for  our  "  Christian  Home." 
We  now  have  seven  East-Indian  boys  and  three  girls. 
We  now  settle  down  to  hard  work  in  the  more  especial 
effort  to  develop  a  band  of  mission  workers,  a  little 
army  to  sing,  testify,  live  and  preach  the  Gospel  from 
village  to  village,  and  in  the  more  general  one  of  teach- 
ing. We  hope,  as  soon  as  we  are  re-enforced,  to  walk 
and  talk  and  sing  our  blessed  gospel  among  the  be- 
nighted heathen  of  these  parts. 

The   Lord   mercifully  provides   for    all   our  wants, 


330  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

though  after  twelve  months  of  ceaseless  plenty  he 
suffers  us  once  more  to  come  to  the  last  rupee.  But 
he  delivers  daily  with  abundant  grace.  The  Lord  is 
the  stay  of  our  hand  and  heart.  C.  B.  WARD. 

Peamoor,  March  4,  1882. 

Brother  Ward  is  one  of  those  who  "  does  no 
missionaiy  work  among  the  heathen.  The 
impression  that  he  does  is  caused  by  virtual 
misrepresentation."  See  Eeport  of  the  last 
November  Missionary  Committee. 


COLAR  ORPHANAGE. 
This  institution  was  founded  also  during  the 
great  famine  in  the  Madras  Presidency  a  few 
years  ago.  Miss  Anstey,  an  educated,  conse- 
crated English  lady,  was  for  some  years  a  mis- 
sionary in  India  under  the  direction  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society.  Her  health  failed, 
and  she  was  sent  home  to  die.  Her  heart  was 
in  India,  and  she  so  greatly  preferred  to  work 
there  for  the  salvation  of  the  heathen  than  to 
go  to  heaven  that  she  asked  God  for  the  gift 
of  restored  life  and  health  and  special  power  to 
work  for  him  in  India.  God  quickly  answered 
her  prayer,  and  she  returned  immediately  to 
India,  and,  without  any  human  certainty  of 
friends  or  funds,  she  went  to  work  to  gather  up 


CoLAR  Orphanage.  331 

the  dying  children — dying  from  starvation. 
Her  orphanage  numbers  about  three  hundred. 
As  has  been  previously  stated,  the  orphanage 
was  not  founded  by  authority  from  any  mis- 
sionary committee.  They  would  all  have  been 
dead  before  any  foreign  missionary  committee 
could  have  learned  and  considered  the  facts 
and  taken  action  in  the  premises.  I  do  not  pre- 
tend to  give  a  history  of  this  wonderful  insti- 
tution and  how  the  Lord  has  kindly  cared  for  it, 
but  I  will  insert  from  "  The  Watchman  "  a  letter 
from  their  pastor,  our  Brother  S.  P.  Jacobs, 
which  will  give  us  a  peep  into  the  inner  circle 
of  its  daily  movements : 

The  Editor  "I.  M.  Watchman" — 

My  Dear  Brother — We  rejoice  to  tell  you  of  God's 
dealing  with  us.  He  is  continually  showing  us  some- 
thing new  in  his  word.  More  and  more  the  conviction 
deepens  that  we  are  largely  walking  in  the  experience 
of  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  but  supposing  ourselves  to 
be  in  the  new  dispensation.  Conscious  regeneration 
and  guidance  by  the  Spirit  were  enjoyed  under  the 
law,  (Num.  xi,  17,  26,  27 ;  Judg.  vi,  34  ;  '  Deut. 
xxxiv,  9  ;  Psa.  li,  10-12  ;  1  Chron.  xxviii,  12  ;  Micah 
iii,  8,  etc,  ;  yet  persons  having  this  experience  sup- 
pose themselves  in  possession  of  the  blessings  of  the 
Gospel.  The  grace  of  John  the  Baptist  greatly  exceeds 
many  of  the  present  day  ;  yet  Christ  declared  that  the 
least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  excelled  him.      The 


332  SELF-SuppoETmo  Missions. 

experiences  common  to  the  age  preceding  Christ  s  ascen- 
sion, are  not  the  experiences  characterizing  the  gospel 
dispensation.  The  powerful  experiences  characterizing 
the  period  following  Christ's  glorification  place  one  in 
the  new  dispensation.  See  John  vii,  38,  39  ;  Acts  i,  8  ; 
ii,  4-47;  xix,  2-6;  2  Cor.  iii,  7-18  ;  Eph.  iii,  16-19; 
Col.  i,  9-11,  etc. 

"We  cannot  say  that  we  have  fully  attained  ;  but  we 
follow  after  that  we  may  apprehend  that  for  which 
Christ  apprehends  us.  We  find  the  work  of  edifying 
more  difficult  than  that  of  making  converts.  This  is 
generally  the  case.  Among  the  reasons  are  the  fact 
that  the  grace  of  regeneration  is  regarded  as  Christian- 
ity, that  all  additional  grace  after  justification  is 
thought  profitable  but  not  necessary,  and  that  Satan  is 
especially  opposed  to  all  advance  in  grace  beyond  the 
pardon  of  sin.  The  adversary  well  knows  that  increased 
holiness  and  power  wonderfully  diminishes  the  liability 
to  apostasy. 

In  addition  to  special  instruction  in  our  regular  serv- 
ices to  edify  believers,  the  daily  Scripture  lessons  in 
the  schools  are  arranged  with  respect  to  this  end.  The 
programme  for  scriptural  instruction  for  one  week  was 
as  follows  : 

Marks  of  a  Christian — Love. 

Monday — This  Love  makes  us  avoid  all  sinful  connec- 
tions with  the  world.     1  John  ii,  15,  17. 

Tuesday — ^This  Love  makes  us  cleave  to  God.     Psalm 
xvi,  5  ;  1  John  iv,  19. 

Wednesday — This  Love  makes  us  cleave  to  the  children 
of  God.     1  John  iv,  20,  21 ;  1  Peter  i,  22. 


CoLAE  Orphanage.  333 

Thursday — This   Love   makes  us    love   our    enemies. 
Matt.  V,  44. 

Friday — This  Love  turns   every  thing  into  blessing. 
Romans  viii,  28. 

Another  week  the  subject  was  humility  ;  another, 
patience  ;  another,  faith  ;  another,  peace  ;  another, 
idolatry,  and  so  forth.  The  class-meetings  afford  much 
aid  to  edification  ;  but  closer  personal  intercourse  is 
needed  to  ascertain  the  spiritual  condition  of  each  and 
bestow  the  needed  help.  The  former  habits  of  heathen 
life  make  necessary  the  most  vigilant  oversight  and  the 
most  rigid  adherence  to  God's  word  in  both  instruction 
and  discipline.  The  idea  that  blameless  Christian 
character,  according  to  the  Bible,  is  not  to  be  expected 
of  native  converts,  is  unscriptural  and  unreasonable. 
Native  character  is  human  character.  And  the  only 
way  to  improve  human  character  is  by  partaking  of 
the  divine  nature.  And  the  only  method  of  securing 
this  is  through  regeneration  and  sanctification.  Regen- 
eration ends  the  death  of  sin,  however  great  ;  and  en- 
tire sanctification  ends  the  pollution  of  sin,  however 
great.  A  native  of  India  brought  from  the  death  and 
pollution  of  sin  into  the  life  and  holiness  of  God  is  as 
fair  a  saint  as  a  European  or  an  American  in  that  con- 
dition. And  the  anointing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  addi- 
tion will  make  a  grand  success  of  either.  A  carnal  or 
self-seeking  life,  under  a  Christian  garb,  is  not  better 
than  such  a  life  under  heathen  garb.  "  All  have  sinned 
and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God."  "There  is  no 
difference."  So,  when  fully  saved,  there  is  no  differ- 
ence,   because    "  God    is    no    respecter    of    persons." 


334  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Every  passing  montli  of  experience  and   observation 
confirms  us  in  the  foregoing  convictions. 

A   BRAHMAN    CONVEETED. 

Mr.  E.  Lackshmen  Row,  formerly  a  teacher  in  Miss 
Anstey's  Orphanage,  came  to  Colar  to  spend  the  holi- 
days. He  esteemed  himself  a  Christian,  although  he 
wore  the  "sacred  thread,"  the  cue,  and  at  times  the 
mark  in  the  forehead,  because  at  heart  he  had  lost  faith 
in  Brahmanism,  and  had  embraced,  in  a  measure,  the 
Christian  doctrine.  We  suggested  that  he  was  de- 
ceived ;  that  Christianity  is  fundamentally  the  divine 
life  in  the  soul,  causing  a  complete  change  of  man's 
nature  from  sin  to  holiness  ;  and  that  this  change  in 
man's  moral  nature  necessarily  effected  a  change  in  his 
conduct.  He  insisted  that  one  might  be  a  Christian 
without  regeneration  ;  and  that  if  regeneration  be  the 
standard  very  few  Christians  would  be  saved.  He 
claimed  Christian  teaching  and  living  in  support  of  his 
views. 

We  were  compelled  to  admit  that  nominal  Christians, 
by  precept  and  example  gave  him  some  grounds  for 
his  opinion  ;  but  we  more  strongly  insisted  upon  an 
utter  change  of  moral  nature  and  conduct,  giving  God's 
word  as  authority  and  confirming  it  with  our  personal 
testimony.  We  declared  the  doctrinal  formulas  in  the 
Bible  to  indicate  divine,  spiritual  power,  as  truly  as 
chemical  formulas  represented  natural,  physical  force  ; 
that  as  the  exploding  dynamite  differed  from  the  chem- 
ical formula  for  its  composition,  so  the  living  Christian 
was  the  embodiment  of  the  scriptural  doctrine  ;  and 
that  a  merely  doctrinal  Christian  was  as  great  an  anom- 


CoLAR  Orphanage.  335 

aly  as  would  be  an  army  of  printed  men  with  printed 
guns  and  printed  horses.  He  seemed  somewhat  satis- 
fied ;  but  would  not  abandon  the  insignia  of  Brahman- 
ism  and  openly  accept  and  confess  Christ.  He  finally 
left  for  Madras,  where  he  was  a  student  at  college ;  but 
prayer  from  faithful  hearts  reached  the  throne  in  his 
behalf.  He  turned  aside  to  Bangalore,  whence  he  wrote 
of  his  deep  distress  of  mind  and  his  hope  to  become  a 
true  Christian.  Unable  to  find  relief  for  his  burdened 
soul,  he  returned  to  Colar  to  join  the  Christian  fold. 

Satan,  unable  longer  to  hold  him  in  Brahmanism,  now 
attempted  to  beguile  him  into  a  false  Christian  hope. 
He  requested  baptism.  This  was  refused  him.  He 
needed  regeneration  to  change  his  nature  instead  of 
baptism  to  change  simply  his  relation.  We  held  before 
him  God's  standard  of  repentance  and  of  Christian 
character.  2  Cor.  vi,  14-18  ;  1  Peter  i,  14-16.  Having 
abandoned  the  "mark,"  and  having  laid  aside  the 
"  thread  "  the  day  before,  he  expressed  a  readiness  for 
prayer  for  his  conversion.  We  brought  the  shears  to 
cut  off  the  cue,  but  he  hesitated,  declined,  and  plead 
"  looks,"  "  national  custom,"  etc.,  in  extenuation.  He 
then  said  :  "  Let  us  pray  here  ;  then  I  will  go  and  have 
my  hair  cut."  "  No,"  I  said  ;  "  I  do  not  kneel  before 
God  except  in  his  covenant."  He  left  the  room  ; 
and  we  entered  our  study  to  await  results.  In  a  few 
moments  he  returned  with  half  the  length  of  hair  cut 
off,  saying,  "I  have  turned  out  the  devil  and  all  his 
work."  I  said,  "  That  will  not  do ;  God  demands 
thorough  work."  Enough  of  the  hair  remained  to  form 
a  short  cue  for  a  passport  back  into  Brahman  society  in 
case  he  did  not  obtain  regeneration.     He  again  left  the 


336  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missiojs^s.    • 

drawing-room,  and  we  entered  our  study  to  await  re- 
sults. 

Satan  suggested  that  we  were  too  exacting,  that  he 
would  become  discouraged  ;  but  the  Holy  Spirit  gave 
us  very  clear  directions,  and  we  remembered  that 
regeneration  follows  repentance. 

He  soon  returned  with  the  shears,  saying,  "  Cut  it  off 
to  suit  you."  We  cut  it  short  with  a  satisfaction  sur- 
passed only  by  his  gladness  over  the  triumph  he  had 
achieved  over  Satan.  All  now  knelt  in  prayer,  and,  in 
a  few  minutes,  after  a  very  definite  acceptance  of 
Christ  as  his  Saviour,  he  was  born  again.  His  face 
beamed  with  divine  joy  as  he  clasped  our  hand  in 
Christian  love.  A  few  days  after  this  some  one's 
profession  of  Christianity  was  spoken  of ;  when  this 
new  convert  from  Brahminism  said,  "I  have  no  faith 
in  him  because  he  wears  his  cue,"  showing,  evidently, 
that  his  own  cue  was  his  last  emblem  of  idolatry  sur- 
rendered. 

We  have  been  minute  in  statement  in  order  to  throw 
a  little  light  upon  the  question  why  native  Christians 
are  so  generally  weak  and  backward  in  winning  others 
to  Christ.  The  chief  reason  is,  they  have  never  been 
regenerated.  And  they  have  not  been  regenerated, 
because  they  have  never  repented.  And  they  have  not 
evangelically  repented,  because  they  have  not  had  suf- 
ficient gospel  light.  Another  cause  of  this  weakness  is 
the  lack  of  edification.  And  Christian  edification  or 
progress  is  very  difiicult  in  those  truly  regenerate,  be- 
cause of  indwelling  bent  to  sin.  And  this  bent  to  sin- 
ning exists  because  entire  sanctification  is  postponed. 
And  postponing  this  sanctification  is  as  truly  a  violation 


CoLAR  Orphanage.  337 

of  scriptural  precept  and  promise,  as  is  the  postponing 
of  repentance  and  justification. 

Eleven  days  after  his  conversion,  Brother  Lackshmen 
Row  was  fully  sanctified.  His  consecration  and  trust 
for  this  was  as  definite  as  his  surrender  and  trust  for 
pardon.  And  the  divine  witness  to  his  sanctification 
was  more  powerful  than  that  of  his  justification.  He 
exclaimed,  "  O,  this  joy  !  It  is  inexpressible."  His 
whole  being  was  impressed  with  the  divine  power. 

We  magnified  God  together  for  this  demonstration 
of  the  Gospel,  this  monument  of  God  in  the  heart 
against  idolatry.  Having  been  greatly  buffeted  by 
Satan,  and  his  consecration  having  been  severely  tested, 
he  is  now  running  joyfully  the  way  of  holiness. 

His  conversion  created  an  uproar  in  the  town.  Effort 
was  made  to  imprison  him,  but,  failing  in  this,  they 
tried  to  regain  him  to  Brahmanism  by  flattery  and  sym- 
pathy. Every  effort  failing,  they  called  a  mass-meet- 
ing and  passed  resolutions  to  put  out  of  caste  all  who 
should  be  connected  with  the  institution  or  patronize 
the  Petta  school.  The  timid  quailed  before  this  pro- 
scription. Four  men  left  their  posts  in  the  mission,  and 
some  withdrew  their  daughters  from  the  Petta  school. 
Some  of  these  are  now  returning  to  the  school.  The 
storm  has  subsided,  and  vigilant  quietude  reigns  in  the 

town. 

We  have  been  compelled  to  omit  points  of  interest  for 

the  sake  of  brevity  ;  but,  we  fear,  have  failed  of  our  end. 

Do  not  forget  to  help  Colar  Orphanage.     Let  this 

work  have  a  warm  place  in  the  Christian  heart  of  India. 

Your  Brother  in  gospel  bonds, 

S.  P.  JACOBS. 


338  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 


CHRISTIAN   PERIODICAL   LITERATURE    IN 
SOUTH  INDIA  CONFERENCE. 

1.  "Bombay  Guardian,"  Rev.  George  Bowen, 
editor,  an  undenominational,  but  intensely- 
religious  sixteen-page  paper.  It  is  a  bulwark 
of  sound  doctrine,  truth,  and  righteousness,  in 
Bombay  Presidency.  Brother  Bowen  has  been 
the  editor  of  this  wonderful  little  paper  for 
about  thirty  years.  He  joined  our  Church  in 
Bombay,  and  became  one  of  my  first  regular 
ministers.  Later  he  was  presiding  elder  of  the 
Bombay  District  for  several  years,  now  in 
charge  of  our  Maratti  Circuit  in  that  city,  and 
has  twice  been  president  of  our  Conference. 

2.  "  The  Lucknow  Witness."  This  weekly,  a 
fraction  larger  than  the  "  Guardian,"  was  com- 
menced by  Brothers  Messmore  and  Thoburn 
in  Lucknow,  in  1871.  They  were  the  editors, 
and  did  their  work  ably,  till  it  passed  it  into 
the  hands  of  Eev.  James  Mudge,  who  was  sent 
out  by  the  Board  as  editor.  It  was  not  strictly 
denominational,  but  was  not  any  the  less  de- 
voted to  the  interests  of  our  Church. 

It  has  recently  passed  into  the  hands  again 
of  Dr.  Thoburn,  who  now  edits  it  in  Calcutta, 
and  sends  it  out  weekly  under  the  new  title  of 


Christian  Pekiodical  Liteeature.    339 

"The  India  Witness."  He  will  make  of  it  a 
strong  and  useful  paper.  It  is  now  the  official 
organ  of  our  Conference. 

The  third  is  a  monthly  of  about  the  same 
size,  commenced  under  the  supervision,  princi- 
pally, of  Eev.  W.  J.  Gladwin,  one  of  our  min- 
isters. It  bears  the  title  of  the  "  India  Meth- 
odist Watchman."  I  clip  the  following  notice 
of  it  from  one  more  familiar  with  its  operations 
than  I  have  had  opportunity  to  be.     He  said : 

It  had  a  providential  birth,  and  has  had  a  providential 
and  useful  history.  It  has  been  blessed  of  God  in 
raising  nearly  |1,000  for  Brother  Taylor's  Transit  Fund. 
It  has  prampted  the  sending  of  many  hundreds  of 
rupees  to  the  Telugu  Mission,  and  has  been  a  blessing 
to  many  readers.  During  the  first  thirty  months  of  its 
history  20,000  copies  went  forth  to  bless  the  world.  It 
deals  with  the  subject  of  holiness  from  the  Wesleyan 
stand-point  of  doctrine  experienced.  It  is  the  special 
friend  of  Faith  Missions,  and  is  devoted  to  the  diffu- 
sion of  such  knowledge  and  exhortation  as  is  calculated 
to  stir  up  our  South  India  Methodists  to  the  magnitude 
and  responsibilities  of  our  opportunities  among  the 
heathen.  For  two  years  and  a  half  a  committee  of 
Methodist  preachers  edited  and  published  it.  With 
January,  1882,  the  paper  passed,  unsought,  into  the 
hands  of  Rev.  C.  B.  Ward,  Superintendent  of  our 
Telugu  Orphanage  and  Mission.  As  a  part  of  his  work 
for  God  in  India,  as  God  gives  him  means  and  ability, 
he  sends  forth  this  monthly  record  of  Christian  work 


340  Self-Supporting  Missioi^s. 

and  experience.  The  Colar  Mission  and  Telugu  Mis- 
sion are  reported  in  each  number  by  a  letter  covering 
the  month's  experience  and  work.  One  or  two  other 
Faith  Missions  will  soon  be  regularly  reported,  and  the 
progress  of  native  work  throughout  our  Conference. 
We  are  persuaded  that  for  $1  per  year  many  of  our 
friends  in  America  would  get  a  vast  amount  of  India 
missionary  news,  by  subscribing  for  the  "  India  Meth- 
odist Watchman." 

The  editorial  service  of  all  these  papers  is 
rendered  cheerfully  without  pay. 


SEAMEN'S  WORK  IN  CALCUTTA. 

Calcutta  is  called  the  Paris  of  the  East.  It 
has  a  population  of  800,000.  Soon  after  I 
commenced  my  campaign  in  that  great  city,  I 
renewed  my  acquaintance  with  a  man  who  was 
saved  under  my  ministry  in  San  Francisco 
twenty  years  before.  When  I  met  him  in 
Calcutta  he  was  commander  of  a  ship  making 
regular  trips  between  that  city  and  London — 
Captain  Jones.  He  was  an  unassuming,  quiet 
man,  but  a  man  with  force  of  character,  and  a 
leader  of  men.  His  name  was  the  first  on  my 
Church  roll  in  that  city,  but  he  soon  left  on 
his  return  voyage  to  London.  When  he  came 
back  he  was  delighted  to  see  what  progress  we 


Seamen's  Work  in  Calcutta.         341 

had  made,  and  regularly  brouglit  one  or  two 
captains  witli  him  to  my  meetings,  and  while 
he  remained  in  the  city,  several  of  his  fellow- 
commanders  were  saved;  so  before  my  year 
was  up  in  Calcutta,  we  had  the  beginning  of  a 
good  work  of  God  among  seamen,  in  addition 
to  my  special  work  of  founding  a  permanent 
Church  in  the  city. 

One  of  my  regular  hearers  from  the  begin- 
ning was  Thomas  H.  Oakes,  of  purely  English 
blood,  but  born  in  India.  Before  I  left,  the 
Lord  "  sanctified  him  wholly,^'  and  called  him 
to  labor  among  the  seamen.  His  industry, 
faith,  patience,  and  skill,  were  marvelously 
manifested  in  his  labors  among  the  men  of  the 
sea.  In  four  years  he  organized  about  forty 
Methodist  societies  of  newly  converted  officers 
and  men  aboard  that  many  ships,  and  had  them 
drilled  to  work  and  witness  for  Jesus.  He 
kept  track  of  all  his  floating  churches  over  all 
seas  and  in  all  ports  whither  they  went,  and 
by  writing  to  ministers  in  their  destined  ports 
in  advance,  bespoke  for  them  a  Christian  wel- 
come. 

To  give  his  seamen  a  safe  retreat  ashore, 
away  from  the  land-sharks,  he  opened  a  coffee- 
room — not  a  Sailor's   Home,  with  board  and 

22 


342  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

lodging,  but  a  large,  well-fitted  up,  and  splen- 
didly lighted  hall — where  seamen  found  a  wel- 
come ;  and  papers,  books,  stationery,  and  facili- 
ties for  writing  to  their  friends,  and  every  even- 
ing a  grand  salvation  meeting.  By  excess  of 
labor,  and  no  sabbatic  rest.  Brother  Oakes 
broke  down  his  health,  and  came  home  to  En- 
gland and  recovered.  Then  to  a  good  commer- 
cial education  he  determined  to  add  a  regular 
theological  course,  so  he  came  to  America  and 
graduated  at  Drew  Seminary,  Madison,  N,  J., 
and  is  now  stationed  at  Madras,  the  city  in 
which  he  was  born.  He  is  an  able  minister  of 
the  Gospel,  and  tests  all  his  work  by  its  suc- 
cess on  the  line  of  "  biting  instead  of  barking." 
His  place  in  Calcutta  was  filled  by  Rev.  Frank 
A.  Goodwin,  a  man  of  indomitable  energy,  a 
fine  musician,  good  singer,  and  soul-saving 
preacher — a  man  well  adapted  to  that  work. 
By  excess  of  labor,  and  no  sabbatic  rest,  he 
broke  himself  down ;  a  sudden  hemorrhage  of 
his  lungs  led  to  consumption  and  a  premature 
grave,  before  he  had  reached  the  noon  of  his 
growing  power  and  skill  in  leading  sinners  to 
the  Saviour.  I  sent  G.  I.  Stone  and  his  wife 
from  the  grindstone  quarries  of  Berea,  Ohio, 
and  later  a  helper  in  the  person  of  Vernon  E. 


Seamen's  Work  m  Calcutta.         343 

Bennett,  from  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  who  is  a  prod- 
igy in  work  for  God  for  one  so  young  in 
years,  to  man  the  first  seamen's  charge  in  that 
city,  for  we  have  two  establishments  of  that  sort 
in  Calcutta :  the  first  is  in  a  rented  and  large 
hall,  at  19  Lai  Bazaar,  and  the  other,  which  we 
own,  at  Hastings,  a  few  miles  further  down  the 
Hooghly  Eiver.  Eev.  L.  E.  Janney  is  stationed 
there. 

Total  annual  income  and  expenditure  of  the 
Lai  Bazaar  work  is  over  $10,000.  For  the 
house  alone  we  have  to  pay  $3,138  per  year. 
An  extract  from  the  report  of  the  superintend- 
ent for  1881  will  give  a  glimpse  at  the  daily 
working  of  the  institution,  partly  charity,  partly 
business,  largely  soul-saving  daily,  ''by  grace 
through  faith." 

The  work  of  the  Seamen's  Coffee  Rooms,  Lai 
Bazaar,  has  been  carried  on  through  another  year  with 
good  results.  All  that  was  said  in  our  report  for  1880 
with  regard  to  the  success  and  usefulness  of  the  rooms 
might  be  truthfully  repeated  for  1881.  The  same  work, 
conducted  in  the  same  way,  and  among  the  same  class 
of  men,  has  abounded  with  tokens  of  God's  favor  and 
blessing. 

Our  Coffee  Rooms  are  conducted  on  thoroughly  Chris- 
tian principles,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  not  only  res- 
cuing the  seamen  from  temptation,  but  also  of  bringing 


344  Self-Supporths-g  Missions. 

them  to  a  knowledge  of  Christ  as  their  Saviour.  Every 
evening  a  service  is  conducted  in  the  room  set  apart  as 
a  chapel,  and  large  numbers  of  those  who  call  in  for  re- 
freshments are  easily  induced  to  step  into  the  chapel  to 
listen  to  the  music  and  afterward  to  participate  in  the 
worship.  It  thus  happens  that  nearly  every  day  in  the 
year  some  poor  wanderer  receives  a  faithful  call  to  re- 
turn to  his  Father,  and  we  think  it  would  not  be  put- 
ting the  estimate  at  all  too  high  if  we  said  that  on  an 
average  throughout  the  year  not  less  than  tw^o  poor 
fellows  every  day  are  induced  to  leave  their  husks  and 
swine  and  return  to  their  Father's  house. 

We  do  not  think  that  this  positively  religious  char- 
acter of  the  rooms  operates  in  the  least  to  keep  men 
away  from  the  place.  It  has  never  been  found  since 
the  rooms  were  first  opened  that  any  seaman  objected 
to  its  religious  character.  On  the  other  hand  we  are 
decidedly  of  the  opinion  that  a  purely  secular  resort 
would  be  less  successful  in  every  way,  and  that  fewer 
seamen  would  go  to  it  than  to  such  a  place  as  we  are 
maintaining. 

The  cause  of  temperance  is  kept  prominently  before 
the  seamen.  The  pledge  is  presented  every  night,  and, 
as  was  stated  in  our  last  report,  many  sign  it,  and  we 
have  reason  to  know  that  many  keep  it. 

Mr.  J.  P.  Meik,  who  has  been  connected  with  the 
rooms  since  they  were  first  opened,  has  recently  left  us 
to  engage  in  another  department  of  the  Lord's  work, 
and  Mr.  V.  E.  Bennett,  who  has  come  out  from  home 
for  the  special  purpose,  has  taken  up  the  work  in  his 
place. 

We   beg   to   tender   our  best  thanks   to  the   many 


Seamen's  Work  in  Calcutta.         345 

friends  who  have  generously  assisted  us  in  our  work 
during  the  past  year.  We  would  make  special  men- 
tion of  the  thoughtful  kindness  of  Mrs.  Robinson,  the 
excellent  wife  of  the  late  Commander  Robinson,  who 
so  generously  aided  in  establishing  the  rooms,  and  also 
of  Mrs.  Howe,  whose  lamented  husband  was  in  former 
years  one  of  the  foremost  friends  of  mission  work 
among  the  seamen  in  Calcutta.  Both  of  these  ladies, 
though  living  in  England,  maintain  an  active  Christian 
sympathy  for  our  work.  We  have  also  to  express  our 
regret  that  Major-General  Crofton  has  been  obliged  to 
leave  India.  In  General  Crofton  our  coffee-rooms 
lose  a  faithful  and  liberal  friend. 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 

The  various  nationalities  and  heterogeneous 
character  of  the  vast  population  of  India  is  in- 
dicated by  the  following  exhibit : 

The  last  census  tells  us  that  India  teems  with  more 
than  250,000,000  of  human  beings.  It  is  said  by  those 
who  have  made  diligent  inquiry  that  about  100  various 
languages  and  dialects  are  spoken  among  these  mil- 
lions. 

More  than  60  of  these,  however,  are  mere  dialects 
spoken  among  the  hill  tribes  at  the  foot  of  or  among 
the  Himalaya  mountains,  while  of  the  remaining  40 
something  like  25  are  dialects  growing  out  of,  in  some 
shape,  the  remaining  real  parent  languages. 


846  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Of  the  parent  languages  nine  count  more  than 
5,000,000  each,  as  follows  : 

1.  Hindee  (including  Urdu  and  Hindustani) .. .  100,000.000 

2.  Bengalee 36,000,000 

3.  Telugu 16,000,000 

4.  Maratti 15,000,000 

5.  Tamil 15,000,000 

6.  Punjabi 12,000,000 

7.  Canerese 9,000,000 

8.  Guzarati 7,000,000 

9.  Oriya 5,000,000 

Below  5,000,000  we  have  : 

1.  Malayalam 4,000,000 

2.  Kolorian 3,000,000 

3.  Kashmiri;  4,  Sindhi ;  5,  Gond,  each 2,000,000 

There  remain  about  25,000,000,  among  whom  fall  the 
threescore  mountain  dialects,  and  the  Singhalese,  Bur- 
mese, Asamese,  Nepalese,  and  Pushtoe,  which  are 
hardly  Indian  tongues,  constituting  more  properly  a 
linguistic  fringe  woven  on  the  outer  edge  of  Hin- 
dustan. 

Laboring  in  these  languages  are  about  25  European 
and  15  American  Missionary  Societies,  with  about  700 
ordained  and  lay  missionaries,  exj^ending  annually 
more  than  $1,125,000  in  the  various  departments  of 
their  work. 

Missionary  work  has  long  been  in  operation  in  the 
regions  of  all  the  parent  languages.  Many  of  the 
societies  are  penetrating  these  larger  fields;  others  are 
invading  the  territory  of  many  of  the  dialects. 

The  Bible  wholly  or  in  part  is  now  translated  and 
published  in  all  the  great  languages,  and  in  about  forty 


Indian  Languages.  347 

of  the  dialects.     The  work  still  goes  on,  and  will  till 
every  tongue  has  its  "  Christian  Bible." 

In  the  i^rovidence  of  God,  in  the  last  twenty-four 
years  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  been  firmly 
established  within  the  bounds  of  all  these  great  Indian 
languages  at  strategic  points  for  a  mighty  movement 
among  200,000,000  of  souls. 

Her  forces  are  distributed  in  the  territory  of  lan- 
guages about  as  follows  : 

1.  In  Hindee,    missionaries 40 

10 

9 

4 

4 

3 

3 

1 

1 

] 

We  look  around  us  and  see  no  other  organization  to 
which  God  has  committed  such  amazing  opportunities 
as  to  Methodism,  nor  indeed  has  she  elsewhere  any  such 
a  battle-field  in  the  wide  world  unless  it  be  among 
China's  400,000,000. 

To  whom  thus  much  is  given  surely  much  will  be  re- 
quired in  that  day.  We  are  aware  that  the  majority 
of  the  above  missionaries  not  in  Hindee  territory  are 
largely  engrossed  in  English-speaking  work.  But  can 
we  for  one  moment  regard  our  English  work  at  any 
point  as  the  ultimatum  of  our  existence  in  this 
country  ? 

Europe  and  America  afford  infinitely  better  facilities 
for  work  in  the  English  tongue  than  India  presents. 


2. 

"  Bangalee,          * 

3. 

"  Maratti,             ' 

4. 

"  Telugu,              • 

5. 

"  Tamil,                 ' 

6. 

"  Canarese,          ' 

1. 

"  Burmese,           * 

8. 

"  Punjabi,             * 

9. 

"  Guzarati,           * 

10. 

"  Sindi, 

848  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missioi^s. 

This  work  is  but  our  base  of  operation  for  a  mighty 
movement  upon  these  200,000,000  of  heathen  and  Mo- 
hammedans. A  careful  pondering  of  the  providences  of 
our  history  will  convince  most  of  us  of  the  truth  of  this 
statement. 

What  fields  we  have  all  white  to  the  harvest!  Fol- 
lowing Christ  in  this  holy  conquest  for  India's  redemp- 
tion, we  shall  yet  see  the  most  glorious 'victory  in  our 
history.  If  we  follow  not  and  fail,  the  failure  will  be 
second  to  none  in  the  Christian  era.  The  Lord  help  us 
in  the  midst  of  these  immense  responsibilities  and 
opportunities  ! 

The  S.  I.  Conference,  at  its  late  session,  appreciating 
in  a  measure  the  vastness  of  our  responsibilities,  made 
it  incumbent  upon  all  members  of  the  Conference,  not 
excused  by  vote,  to  study  some  one  of  the  Indian  ver- 
naculars, in  addition  to  English  studies  and  pastorate 
and  preaching  work.  Examinations  to  be  held  at  the 
session  of  each  Annual  Conference. 

FiEST  Year. 
A  standard  grammar  of  the  language  selected,  ele- 
mentary reading  lessons,  and  the  Gospel  of  Matthew. 

Second  Year. 
The  Gospels  of  Mark,  Luke  and  John,  one  hundred 
pages  of  some  standard  book  used  for  examinations  in 
the  language,  and  oral  exercises. 

Third  Year. 
The  New  Testament  Epistles,  two  hundred  pages  in 
a  standard  book,  and  a  written  sermon. 


India]^^  Languages.  349 

Fourth  Year. 
The  Psalms  and  Prophets,  written  exercises  as  fur- 
nished by  examiners,  two  hundred  pages  in  a  standard 
book,  and  a  written  sermon. 

This  is  a  light  course  of  study,  and  most  of  us 
waste  time  enough  to  complete  every  line  of  it  with 
honor. 

If  these  immortal  millions  were  on  our  hearts  as 
Jerusalem  sinners  were  on  the  Master's,  we  would  soon 
solve  this  language  question  and  be  out  preaching 
"  Jesus  mighty  to  save  "  to  them.  What  is  the  mas- 
tery of  the  language  when  we  are  supplied  with  so 
many  useful  appliances  as  our  day  presents  ?  0  that 
we  were  more  inspired  by  the  example  of  our  prede- 
cessors, who,  under  astounding  disadvantages,  without 
our  helps,  have  mastered  the  most  difficult  languages, 
and  then  translated  Scriptures,  etc.,  into  them  ;  and  in 
some  cases  set  up  the  very  type  for  their  publication. 

We  ought  to  quit  ourselves  "  like  men  "  in  the  midst 
of  these  immortal  opportunities,  by  much  praying, 
diligent  study,  and  heroic  labor  for  the  salvation  of 
these  millions. 


350  Self-Suppoeti]s^g  Missioi^s. 


INDIA  CAMP-MEETINGS. 

The  founder  of  tlie  Ocean  Grove  Camp-meet- 
ing, in  New  Jersey,  is  tlie  founder  of  regular 
camp-meetings  in  India — Kev.  William  B.  Os- 
born.  It  may  be  proper  here  to  say  that 
Brother  Osborn  paid  his  own  passage  to  India 
and  gave  us  several  years  of  good  service  as  Pre- 
siding Elder  of  Bombay  and  Madras  Districts. 
If  he  could  have  concentrated  his  faith  and 
energy,  as  I  had  to  do  to  make  a  success — a 
year  in  Bombay,  six  days  per  week  ;  a  year  in 
Calcutta,  and  so  on — he  would  have  accom- 
plished a  great  work.  He  did  good,  and  stirred 
up  the  working  spirit  in  others.  The  illness 
of  his  wife  obliged  him  to  seek  a  change  of 
climate,  and  they  are  now  evangelizing  in  Aus- 
tralia with  good  success. 

It  has  been  common  for  many  years  for  mis- 
sionaries to  "  itinerate,"  as  they  call  it.  They 
go  with  their  wagons,  tents,  servants,  preachers 
and  Bible  readers  and  camp  near  a  heathen  vil- 
lage and  preach  daily,  in  a  tent  and  in  the  open 
air,  for  a  week  or  more,  and  then  move  on  to 
another  village.  That  has  resulted  in  much 
gospel  instruction  to  the  natives,  but  not  kept 
up  long  enough  for  great  numerical  results  in 


Ii^DiA  Camp-meetings.  351 

soul-saving.  I  have  attended  many  meetings 
of  that  sort  in  Roliilcund,  India,  and  at  one  in 
Kumaon,  under  Eev.  Brother  Haskins,  quite  a 
large  number  were  converted  to  God.  These 
were  camp-meetings  of  their  kind. 

Then  for  eight  or  nine  years  our  "brethren  in 
Lucknow  have  had  a  great  annual  gathering  on 
a  general  native  festive  occasion,  called  the 
'^Dasara  holidays."  This  was  not  a  regular 
camp-meeting,  but  they  had  a  great  tent  in 
which  they  had  large  meetings,  and  often  ex- 
traordinary gospel  power.  Quite  a  number 
from  Calcutta,  about  eight  hundred  miles  dis- 
tant, attend  those  meetings.  But  William  B. 
Osborn  started  a  regular  camp-meeting  of  the 
American  type,  first  at  Lanowli,  and  a  second 
on  the  sea-coast  near  the  city  of  Madras.  The 
Lanowli  camp-meeting  is  in  the  midst  of  grand 
mountain  scenery  on  the  railway  between  Bom- 
bay and  Poonah,  eighty  miles  from  Bombay  and 
forty  from  Poonah.  I  clip  from  the  "India 
Methodist  Watchman"  the  follow  call  for  a 
camp-meeting  at  Lanowli  for  1882  : 

Lanowli  Camp-meethstg. 
The  idea  of  camp-meetings  is  even  yet  new  among 
Christians  in  India.     But  we  are  led  again  and  again 
to  ask  ourselves  whether  the  camp-meeting  idea  is  not 


352  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

a  very  familiar  one  with  the  natives  of  India.  The 
other  day  as  we  were  riding  in  a  train  we  saw  by  the 
way  what  appeared  to  be  not  less  than  15,000  or  20,000 
Hindus  congregated  in  the  vicinity  of  an  old  temple. 
Near  the  temple  we  counted  more  than  fifty  small  tents; 
carts,  bulls,  etc.,  stood  about  in  great  profusion.  It 
was  a  heathen  festival,  of  course.  But  drop  out  the 
heathenism  and  put  in  Christianity,  and  what  a  camp- 
meeting  we  might  have  had !  Some  of  those  people 
came  distances  by  train,  others  from  villages  far  and 
near  on  foot,  by  horse  and  carts. 

For  years  an  annual  camp-meeting  has  been  held 
during  the  Dasara  holidays  at  Lucknow.  Many  have 
co-operated,  but  our  brethren  of  the  North  India  Con- 
ference may  fairly  regard  this  as  their  institution. 
These  meetings  have  been  so  blessed  from  year  to  year 
that  nobody  entertains  the  idea  of  discontinuing  them. 
Less  than  five  years  ago  a  sort  of  camp-meeting  apostle 
came  to  India,  and  within  the  first  year  of  his  stay  he 
found  a  goodly  number  who  believed  the  Easter  holi- 
days afforded  a  good  time  for  a  camp-meeting  some- 
where near  Bombay.  Lanowli  was  selected  as  the  site, 
and  accordingly  four  years  ago  a  goodly  concourse  of 
people  and  preachers  there  assembled  for  a  few  days  in 
the  capacity  of  a  camp-meeting. 

W.  B.  Osborn  has  lived  to  see  the  Lanowli  Camp- 
meeting  a  regular  institution  well  established,  and  he  is 
seeking  to  establish  the  same  institution  extensively  in 
Australia. 

The  Fifth  Annual  Camp-meeting  will  be  held  at 
Lanowli  this  year,  beginning  April  5th,  to  last  from  six 
to  eight  days,  according  to  circumstances.     It  has  not 


IkDIA    CAMP-MEETmGS.  353 

been  our  privilege  to  see  the  camp  grounds  at  Lanowli. 
But  we  believe  the  location  is  all  that  could  be  desired  : 
climate  delightful,  shade  abundant,  water  plenty,  rail- 
way and  post  near,  and  mountain  scenery  not  far  aw^ay. 
A  few  hours'  ride  from  Bombay  or  Poonah  puts  one 
down  at  these  grounds. 

As  hitherto,  tents  will  be  available  for  as  many  as 
come  on  the  ground,  at  low  rates.  Boarding  arrange- 
ments will  be  made  for  all  who  are  not  prepared  to  feed 
themselves,  at  one  rupee  per  day  as  on  previous  years. 

It  is  expected  that  a  good  number  of  preachers,  lay 
and  clerical,  will  be  present.  We  have  been  requested 
to  say  that  the  gathering  will  be  made  a  "  straight  holi- 
ness camp-meeting."  We  sincerely  hope  and  pray  that 
the  end  for  which  God  especially  wants  a  holy  Church 
in  India  will  be  strongly  impressed  on  every  attendant 
at  Lanowli  this  year.  We  fear  that  as  Methodists  we 
do  not  so  clearly  see  this  as  we  should,  and  many,  who 
have  sought  sanctification  for  its  personal  benefits  alone, 
have  not  found  it ;  others  have  found  it,  but  not  dis- 
cerning the  end  for  which  God  sanctifies  his  people, 
have  lost  the  blessing  again.  Pentecostal  experiences 
sent  a  Pentecostal  Church  into  the  streets,  bazaars,  fields 
and  villages  with  irresistible  soul-saving  power.  "  Ye 
shall  be  witnesses  unto  me,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth," 
was  ineffaceably  written  on  their  memories. 

If  ever  a  people  needed  Pentecostal  experience  we 
do  this  day  in  India.  Services  will  be  held  daily  for 
the  natives.  Last  year  these  services  were  greatly 
blessed  we  have  been  told.  It  is  our  prayer  that  some 
time  may  be  specially  devoted  to  the  consideration  of 
prayer  for  this  most  necessary  part  of  our  work  in 


354  Self-Supporting  Missioi^s. 

India.  It  is  pretty  well  established  in  our  day  that 
Christ's  Gospel,  even  at  considerable  cost,  is  intensely 
economical.  The  more  of  godliness  we  get  the  less  we 
expend  for  folly  and  luxury.  It  will  cost  you  but  little 
to  attend  this  camp-meeting,  but  it  may  put  hundreds 
of  rupees  in  your  pockets  in  a  few  years,  besides  an 
"  eternal  weight  of  glory."  Alas  !  many  among  us 
spend  yearly  more  on  trinkets  or  a  filthy  habit  than  a 
trip  to  camp-meeting.  Brother  and  sister,  go  and  get 
cured  of  these  sources  of  financial  and  spiritual  leakage 
by  the  "  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  power." 

Let  all  who  cannot  attend  pray  mightily  for  blessings 
on  those  who  do  attend. 

A  letter  from  Eev,  Thomas  Morton,  one  of 
onr  India-born  ministers,  furnishes  an  intima- 
tion of  the  last  meeting.     He  says : 

We  had  a  grand  time  at  Lanowli  Camp-meeting 
during  the  Easter  holidays.  The  power  of  God  was 
gloriously  manifested  in  all  the  exercises,  especially  in 
the  after-meetings.  Brothers  Carter,  Baker,  Northrup 
and  Stevens  are  all  alive.  Stevens  is  very  fiery.  He 
does  not  tire  in  talking  of  salvation.  Brother  Jacobs  is 
one  of  the  grandest  men  we  have  in  India. 

The  "  Bombay  Guardian  "  reports  the  camp- 
meeting  was  a  decided  success.  Some  persons 
came  800,  others  1,500,  miles  to  attend  it.  Two 
Hindus  were  baptized  near  its  close.  One 
night  a  wolf  came  into  the  camp,  but  when  he 
saw  what  sort  of  a  meeting  it  v*^as  he  left. 


Administrative  Embarrassments.     355 

XIX. 

ADMINISTRATIVE  EMBARRASSMENTS. 

As  a  loyal  Methodist  it  is  a  great  grief  to 
me  in  any  way  to  embarrass  the  administration 
of  the  Church.  I  would  much  rather  die  than 
cause  unnecessary  trouble  in  the  Church  of  my 
choice.  I  am,  of  course,  personally  acquainted 
with  all  our  Church  officers;  I  love  them  all 
as  Christian  brethren,  and  honor  them  in  their 
high  representative  character ;  I  never  had  any 
personal  unpleasantness  with  any  of  them,  and 
never  expect  to ;  I  would  not  spend  a  moment 
of  time  in  advocating  any  speculative  theory. 
The  "  rub  "  is  on  a  line  of  vital  principles  and 
practical  facts. 

As  we  have  clearly  shown,  I  conscientiously 
took  the  ground  from  the  beginning : 

1.  That  the  jurisdiction  of  our  Missionary 
Society — ^the  grandest  institution  of  our  Church 
— extended  legitimately  to  all  the  fields  receiv- 
ing funds  from  her  treasury  for  the  support  of 
her  missionaries  in  those  fields,  and  no  further. 

2.  That  the  jurisdiction  of  our  Bishops 
should  not  be  limited  to  said  mission    fields, 


856  SELF-SuPPOETrN-G    MISSIONS. 

but  should  extend  to  any  part  of  the  globe  re- 
quiring the  services  and  guaranteeing  the  sup- 
port of  an  itinerant  Methodist  minister.  There- 
fore, 

3.  It  should  be  competent  for  the  Bishops  to 
put  a  liberal  construction  on  'Hhe  missionary- 
rule  "  for  ordaining  men  for  foreign  work,  so  as 
to  ordain  and  send  out  suitable  men  to  fields 
opened  by  my  agency  or  otherwise.  I  pre- 
sumed that,  on  the  principle  of  common  neces- 
sity, common  sense,  and  the  common  law  of 
Methodism,  the  Bishops  would  be  justified  in 
such  a  rendering  of  the  spirit  of  the  law ;  if 
not,  then  I  asked  them  to  recommend  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  to  alter  and  enlarge  the  appli- 
cation of  "the  missionary  rule." 

4.  Refusing  from  the  first  to  put  my  self-sup- 
porting missions  under  the  control  of  a  mis- 
sionary society,  not  from  prejudice,  but  prin- 
ciple, I  specially  desired  to  put  my  work,  as 
soon  as  organized,  under  the  Episcopal  jurisdic- 
tion of  our  Church. 

In  putting  my  India  Churches  under  the 
Episcopal  supervision  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal, an  integral  loyal  part  of  the  body,  the 
representative  Bishop  of  said  Church  concurred 
in  the  principles  stated,  and  consented  that  all 


Admii^istrative  Embarrassment.      357 

my  self-supporting  missions  sliould  remain  out- 
side and  independent  of  tiie  Missionary  Society. 
Now,  it  seems  to  me  tliat  if,  in  tlieir  wisdom, 
they  had  so  applied  tlie  missionary  rule  as  to 
ordain  and  send  men  wherever  needed,  and 
kept  pace  with  the  outside  movement,  there 
would  have  been  no  possibility  of  friction ;  but, 
so  construing  the  rule  as  to  make  it  applicable 
only  to  men  sent  out  by  the  Missionary  Board, 
they  limited  their  own  juiisdiction  in  foreign 
countries  to  missions  opened  by  order  of  the 
Missionary  Committee.  When  I  was  called  by 
the  Spirit  to  go  to  plant  missions  on  the  west 
coast  of  South  America,  I  labored  hard  to  get 
the  concurrence  of  the  Bishops  in  advance.  I 
offered  to  go  in  their  name,  pay  all  my  own 
expenses,  and  found  self-supporting  missions,  if 
they  would  consent  to  ordain  and  appoint  the 
men  required,  and  allow  them  to  retain  a  confer- 
ence connection  at  home,  and  be  returned  on 
the  minutes — "  missionaries  to  South  America," 
and  thus  keep  the  whole  movement  under  their 
own  control.  Without  details,  suffice  it  to  say 
that  my  proposal  was  not  accepted. 

Then  having  gone  without  any  such  authority, 
and  having  opened  a  dozen  of  important  fields, 
and  having  a  dozen  missionary  men  and  women 

23 


358  Self-Suppokting  Missions. 

preparing  to  sail,  I  again  appealed  to  our  dear 
Bishops,  at  tlieir  semi-annual  meeting  for  1878, 
asking  if  thej  would  ordain  my  men  for  South 
America  ? 

They  were,  of  course,  very  courteous  and 
kind,  for  they  are  all  my  friends,  and  I  am  their 
friend — I  would  black  their  boots,  wash  their 
feet,  do  any  thing  but  compromise  conscientious 
principle  —  but  replied  emphatically,  ''  The 
trouble  is,  as  a  Church  we  have  no  missions  in 
Peru,  and  as  Bishops  we  have  no  power  to 
create  one,  nor  to  send  men  to  one." 

I  then  realized  more  clearly  than  before  two 
things : 

1.  The  utmost  foreign  boundaries  of  our 
Episcopal  jurisdiction — the  fields  opened  by 
our  Missionary  Committee. 

2.  The  illimitable  fields  opened  to  me — all 
outside  of  their  jurisdiction — to  be  occupied  as 
the  Lord  shall  lead,  and  that,  too,  without 
infringing  any  law  of  our  Church.  So  I  ac- 
cepted the  unsought  providential  situation. 

I  could  not  secure  ordination  for  my  men, 
but  certified  to  their  educational  attainments 
and  manifest  call  from  God  to  preach  his 
Gospel,  and  appointed  them  to  the  fields  I  had 
opened  to  give  full  proof  of  their  ministry. 


Administeative  Embarrassment.      359 

Tlien,  at  tlieir  next  annual  meeting,  tlie  Mis- 
sionaiy  Committee  assayed  to  organize  all 
South  America,  (outside  of  tlieir  mission  in 
Argentina,)  and  Central  America  into  a  mission 
of  tlie  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  appro- 
priated $500  dollars  for  its  support.  That 
action  conceded  my  point,  viz. :  that  the  Mis- 
sionary Board  have  no  jurisdiction  where  they 
appropriate  no  money ;  the  appropriation  being 
merely  nominal,  never  to  be  drawn  for  any 
such  purpose.  The  ostensible  object  was  to 
relieve  the  administration  so  that  the  Bishops 
might  legally  ordain  my  men. 

But  I  respectfully  inquire,  First,  If  the  action 
was  merely  nominal,  and  not  a  hona  fide  trans- 
action, and,  applied  to  a  field  outside  of  their 
jurisdiction,  had  it  any  legal  force  or  validity  ? 
If  it  be  said  it  was  really  for  the  purpose  of 
planting  missions  in  those  fields,  that  is  nega- 
tived by  the  smallness  of  the  appropriation. 
Second,  Was  not  the  real  object  of  the  com- 
mittee to  bring  me  and  my  Missions  under  the 
control  of  the  Missionary  Board,  contrary  to  the 
principles  I  had  avowed  from  the  first,  and  to 
"the  agreement"  that  my  Self-supporting  Mis- 
sions should  not  be  put  under  the  control  of 
the  Missionary  Society? 


360  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

The  following  correspondence  will  illustrate 
tlie  situation  at  that  time.  I  insert  it  because 
it  pertains,  not  to  any  private  or  personal  affair, 
but  to  the  most  sacred  interests  of  the  Church 
and  the  salvation  of  the  world.  Moreover, 
it  is  but  honorable  and  fair  to  have  a  full  state- 
ment of  the  case  from  the  other  side.  It  con- 
sists of  four  Episcopal  letters  addressed  to  me, 
and  my  replies.  The  first  is  dated  January  13, 
1879,  and  reads  as  follows : 

Dear  Brother  Taylor — The  Bishops,  at  their  fall 
meeting,  asked  me  to  write  you,  and  also  the  brethren 
in  South  America,  as  to  your  judgement  concerning  the 
feasibility  of  visiting  the  coast  next  winter  and  ordain- 
ing the  brethren  and  setting  in  order  the  Churches. 

You  will  notice  that  the  General  Committee  at  its 
last  session  placed  that  region  within  the  control  of  the 
Society.  We  can,  therefore,  now  elect  any  brother 
there,  whatever  his  ministerial  age,  to  both  orders.  If 
such  desire  it,  and  I  judge  from  what  I  see  in  the  papers 
that  they  do,  they  ought  to  receive  ordination.  I 
wrote  Brother  Stowell  on  the  matter.  It  would  be  well 
to  get  the  names  of  the  brothers  who  wish  ordination, 
that  they  may  be  elected  in  some  of  the  home  Confer- 
ences. It  may  not  be  well  to  do  more  now  than  grant 
ordination.  I  am  greatly  gratified  with  your  work,  and 
have  always  supported  you.  I  hope  you  will  soon  get 
the  Church's  arms  about  the  brethren,  as  you  have  done 
in  India.      The  Western  South  American  Conference 


Administrative  Embareassiment.      361 

ought  to  soon  follow  the  South  India.  Hoping  to  hear 
from  you  soon,  I  remain  your  brother  and  fellow-worker 
in  Christ  Jesus. 

No  epistle  could  be  more  respectful  and 
brotherly,  but  it  concedes  the  fact  tliat  tlie 
action  of  tlie  General  Committee  "placed  that 
region  within  the  control  of  the  Society."  Ex- 
actly. 

The  following  is  my  reply  : 

Paisley,  Canada,  JavAiary  27,  1879, 
Rev.  Bishop  : 

Dear  Brother — Tour  favor  of  the  13th  inst.  just  to 
hand.  Before  I  went  to  South  America  I  labored  hard, 
by  letter  and  by  personal  pleading,  to  get  our  Bishops  so 
far  to  recognize  my  contemplated  work  in  South  Amer- 
ica as  to  allow  my  missionaries  each  to  sustain  an  itin- 
erant relation  to  our  home  Conferences  and  be  returned 
on  their  minutes — just  as  was  Rev.  Dr.  Swaney,  of  the 
Pittsburgh  Conference,  when  for  years  he  was  in  South 
America  under  the  auspices  of  the  Seamen's  Friend 
Society — "  Missionary  to  South  America." 

I  agreed  to  take  the  responsibility  and  make  no 
drafts  on  the  Missionary  Society.  In  India  I  had  time 
at  command,  and  personally  founded  Churches  in  all 
the  great  capitals  of  that  empire ;  but  being  anxious  for 
an  early  return  to  my  work  in  India,  I  could  not  hope 
to  stay  long  in  South  America  ;  hence  wished  to  put  it 
immediately  under  the  care  of  the  Bishops.  My  loyal 
appeal  to  the  Bishops  signally  failed,  as  you  may  know, 
and  I  was  officially  forbidden  to  attempt  such  a  thing ; 


362  SELF-SuppoRTiisra  Missions. 

hence,  though  I  had  to  "  obey  God,"  and  go  to  South 
America,  I  organized,  not  Churches,  but  working  com- 
mittees elected  by  the  people,  on  a  broad  undenomina- 
tional principle.  I  founded  my  missions  in  India  on  the 
same  principle,  and  they  themselves  in  due  time  elected 
to  become  an  integral  part  of  our  Methodism.  When 
we  shall,  by  the  will  of  God,  found,  and  develop 
Churches  in  South  America,  they  may  elect  to  be  the 
same.  I  am  not  a  foreteller  in  that  matter — was  not 
in  India.  But  I  believe  in  God  and  in  man  and  in 
Methodism  and  in  the  identity  of  old-fashioned  Method- 
ism and  apostolic  Christianity;  and  had  our  men  re- 
ceived the  help  from  the  Church  at  home  that  their 
heroic  self-sacrifice  entitled  them  to,  I  should  have  no 
concern  about  organic  results. 

Nothing  can  be  done  now,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  till,  as 
in  India,  we  develop  Churches  in  South  America,  and 
let  them  settle  the  question  of  their  own  Church  rela- 
tionship. 

Having  a  written  agreement  with  all  my  patrons  in 
South  America,  based  on  the  broad  principle  aforesaid, 
extending  for  three  years  from  the  date  of  the  arrival 
of  my  workers,  were  I  to  become  a  party  to  the  action 
of  the  Missionary  Committee,  and  advise  the  visit  of 
a  Bishop,  as  you  suggest,  they  would  brand  me  and  my 
men  as  Methodist  Jesuits,  trying  to  take  them  in  under 
false  pretenses.  If  the  Bishops  could  have  seen  their 
way  to  ordain  the  men  before  they  left,  it  would  have 
been  a  real  help  to  our  stupendous  undertaking,  but 
now  the  less  that  is  said  and  done,  officially,  the  better 
for  our  work  there.         Your  brother  in  Jesus, 

WILLIAM  TAYLOR. 


Administkative  Embarrassment.      363 
Tlie  official  reply  is  as  follows  : 

January  31,  1879. 
Dear  Brother  Taylor — I  was  glad  to  hear  from 
you.     I  wrote  three  letters,  and  was  afraid  you  had 
left  your  home,  as  you  have  given  it — the  earth — and 
that  I  could  not  reach  you. 

1.  I  do  not  object  to  your  conclusions,  but  allow  me  to 
make  a  statement  or  two  in  defense  of  the  action  of  the 
Bishops.  You  are  aware  that  we  cannot  ride  over  law, 
otherwise  a  worse  name  might  and  would  be  affixed  to 
us  than  that  you  fear  for  your  and  my  brethren  in 
South  America.  The  Board  was  anxious  to  favor  your 
plans,  but  could  see  no  way.  The  Discipline  limits 
their  powers.  I  told  Brother  Stowell  before  he  aj^plied 
to  Bishop  Merrill  that  he  could  not  get  ordained.  He 
was  legally  of  non  age.  Bishop  Merrill  would  have 
been  subject  to  Discipline  had  he  ruled  otherwise.  Had 
he  thus  ruled,  and  the  Conference  appealed,  the  appeal 
would  have  been  sustained. 

2.  As  soon  as  they  could  act  they  did.  The  Mis- 
sionary Committee  must  create  the  missions.  This  was 
done  after  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  Board  of  Bishops  in 
favor  of  it.  When  that  was  done  the  way  was  open  to 
co-operate  formally,  as  they  had  already  heartily, 
with  your  plans.  They,  therefore,  voted  that  I  enter 
into  correspondence  with  you  and  the  brethren.  I  have 
only  written  Brother  Stowell.  After  your  letter  I  shall 
proceed  no  further.  It  is,  however,  perhaps  desirable 
for  you  to  consider  how  anomalous  are  their  present 
relations.  They  are  local  preachers  in  our  Church, 
eligible  now  to  ordination,  both  as  deacons  and  elders 
Tinder  the  Missionary  Rule.     They  ought  to  be  so  or- 


B64  Self-Supporte^g  Missioi^s. 

dained.  If  they  should  administer  either  sacraments 
unordained  they  would  be  subject  to  discipline.  That, 
you  nor  they  nor  any  one  would  wish.  They  can  be 
ordained  by  coming  to  California.  That  covers  your 
point  as  to  Churches  ;  or,  they  could  be  elected,  and  a 
Bishop  could  proceed  there  to  ordain  them,  and  not  or- 
ganize any  Churches.  I  do  not  wish  to  suggest  or  ad- 
vise, much  less  would  I  harm  your  work.  You  are 
well  aware  of  my  sympathy  with  it.  I  believe  the 
whole  Board  is  of  my  opinion ;  still,  if  in  some  way 
these  brethren  could  be  ordained,  I  have  no  doubt  you 
and  they  would  be  glad.  It  can  be  settled  between 
now  and  next  fall.  There  is  plenty  of  time,  as  the 
California  Conference  does  not  meet  till  September, 
and  if  a  Bishop  went  there  he  would  not  go  till  after 
that.  Meantime  consider  further,  and  if  you  or  they 
wish  any  action  on  the  part  of  the  Bishops,  please  let 
me  know.  They  will  do  all  in  their  power  to  further 
your  work  after  the  Church  order,  which  is  all  the 
power  they  have  and  that  you  want.  You  will  notice 
that  the  course  suggested  does  not  raise  the  question  of 
Church  organization.  It  avoids  that  entirely.  You 
will  also  note  that  India  was  under  missionary,  and  so 
Episcopal,  jurisdiction  from  the  start. 

Most  truly  yours, 

For  gentlemanly  courtesy,  Christian  love  and 
patience,  nothing  can  exceed  this  letter.  But 
we  learn  from  it — 

1.  That  after  all,  through  years  of  corre- 
spondence and  talk,  i  had  been  so  unintelligible 


Administrative  Embarrassment.      365 

in  my  statements  of  tlie  case  that  I  had  failed 
to  get  the  Bishops  to  perceive  the  fact,  that  God 
had  put  me  to  icork  in  a  domain  outside  of  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Missionary  Committee. 

2.  That,  from  principle,  I  had  from  the  start 
refused  to  put  myseK  and  my  self-supporting 
missions  under  the  jurisdiction  or  control  of 
said  Committee. 

3.  That  when  I  formally  placed  my  missions 
in  India  under  the  jurisdiction  of  our  Bishops, 
they,  through  their  official  representative,  con- 
curred in  my  principles,  as  we  have  seen,  and 
covenanted  that  we  should  not  he  put  under  the 
jurisdiction  and  control  of  said  Committee. 

4.  That  the  domain  of  the  earth  outside  the 
boundaries  of  organized  Methodist  mission 
fields  was  open  to  pre-emption  by  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  self-supporting  Methodism,  and  that 
such  settlements  had,  under  a  gospel  charter, 
the  right  to  claim  the  supervision  and  co-oper- 
ation of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
directly  under  Episcopal  supervision  and  of 
direct  appeal  to  the  General  Conference,  with- 
out being  put  under  the  control  of  one  of  the 
great  benevolent  home  institutions  of  the 
Church. 

No  one  acquainted  with  the  facts  in  the  case 


366  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

can  doubt  the  earnest  wisli  of  the  Bishops  to  do 
every  thing  in  their  power  to  solve  the  adminis- 
trative problem  involved  in  their  theory  of  ad- 
ministration, by  which  they  are  not  allowed  to 
take  one  step  in  a  foreign  field  without  first 
getting  permission  from  the  Missionary  Com- 
mittee at  one  of  its  annual  sessions  in  New 
York,  nor  to  extend  their  jurisdiction  into  any 
of  my  organized  self-supporting  foreign  mis- 
sions, till  they  shall  be  formerly  recognized 
and  put  under  the  control  of  said  Committee. 
Keply  to  letter  No.  2  : 

Hamilton,  Canada,  February  11,  1879. 
Rev.  Bishop  : 

Dear  Brother — ^Your  favor  of  the  31st  ult.  is  just 
now  to  hand. 

My  earnest  endeavors  to  secure  ordination  for  my 
men,  from  the  first,  are  in  evidence  that  I  was  more 
anxious  for  it  than  any  body  else  could  be,  and  I  shall 
be  most  happy  to  have  it  done  as  soon  as  possible  with- 
out jeopardizing  our  work  there. 

It  is  not  what  the  people  there  might  say  about  us 
that  I  would  dread,  but  what  they  would  do  if  we  do 
not  deal  fairly  with  them  according  to  our  agreement. 

It  is  a  thousand  miles  further  from  Panama  to  San 
Francisco  than  to  New  York,  so  that  my  men  can't  go 
there  for  ordination. 

To  return  to  New  York  and  back  to  their  work  would 


Administkatiye  Embarrassment.      367 

involve  double  the  cost  of  sending  thera — say  $10,000, 
or  a  little  less  in  the  steerage,  as  they  went  first. 

I  am  a  man  of  peace,  and  cannot  afford  time  to  debate 
questions  of  law.  I  am,  I  know,  doing  the  work  God 
has  given  me  to  do,  and  that  a  stringent  application  of 
tape  should  impose  such  disabilities  on  God's  advancing 
work  is  a  great  pity. 

Bishop  Simpson  saw  no  difficulty  in  ordaining  and 
appointing  men  to  South  America,  and  arranged  to 
ordain  a  man  for  me  the  same  fall  I  was  leaving  first 
for  that  country ;  but  adverse  councils  prevailed  at  the 
annual  meeting,  and  hence  the  hitch  that  has  so  jeopard- 
ized this  work  of  God. 

I  believe  that  the  precedents  of  Methodistic  history, 
the  common  law  of  Methodism,  and  God's  various 
methods  of  extending  his  soul-saving  work  into  new 
fields,  make  a  clear  distinction  between  the  jurisdiction 
of  our  Episcopacy  and  that  of  our  Missionary  Society. 

I  believe  that  the  jurisdiction  of  our  Missionary  So- 
ciety is  limited  to  needy  fields  requiring  and  receiving 
funds  from  her  treasury.  The  jurisdiction  of  our 
Bishops,  besides  covering  those  fields  as  it  now  does, 
should  extend  beyond  those  lines  as  far  as  our  work 
may  be  opened  and  organized. 

I  believe  in  our  Missionary  Society,  and  have  been 
advocating  its  claims  and  contributing  to  its  funds  (as 
high  once  as  a  thousand  dollars  at  a  single  donation) 
for  thirty-seven  years ;  but  to  refuse  to  let  the  Holy 
Ghost  open  a  work  in  India  or  in  South  America — a 
self-supporting  work — unless  he  can  first  get  the  con- 
currence of  the  Missionary  Committee  in  ISTew  York, 
and  put  it  under  their  control,  is  a  violation  of  the 


368  SELF-SuppoRTmG  Missions. 

spirit  and  common  law  of  Methodism.  Such  a  work, 
however,  like  all  our  self-supporting  work  before  we 
had  any  Missionary  Society,  should  come  immediately 
under  Episcopal  jurisdiction. 

I  have  no  jDrejudice  nor  caprice  in  the  matter,  but  on 
principle  took  this  position  in  India  seven  years  ago. 

When  I  proposed  that  the  Missionary  Society  might 
send  men  to  my  mission  and  pay  their  passage,  my 
proposition  was  accompanied  by  a  distinct  stipulation, 
that  my  mission  should  not  in  any  way  come  under 
their  control,  but  under  direct  Episcopal  supervisiooi,  and 
I  thought,  in  accepting  my  proposal,  they  did  concur 
in  that  and  in  the  principle  it  involved,  as  their  repre- 
sentative Bishop  did  emphatically  when  I  consented  to 
be  appointed  nominally  the  superintendent  of  the 
Bombay  and  Bengal  Mission,  as  I  was  really,  by  divine 
appointment,  before. 

Our  Church  Extension  Society  is  a  grand  institution, 
but  if  the  Board  in  Philadelphia  should  assume  that, 
beyond  a  certain  radius,  no  church  should  be  built  from 
independent  resources  (requiring  no  help  from  them) 
without  the  consent  and  authorization  of  the  Board,  it 
would  at  least  raise  the  question  of  jurisdiction. 

You  remind  me  "that  India  was  under  Missionary 
and  Episcopal  jurisdiction  from  the  start." 

But,  Bishop,  you  will  allow  me  to  remind  you  that 
out  Missionary  authorities  and  Bishops  entered  into  a 
covenant  with  Dr.  Duff — representing  the  Free  Church 
of  Scotland — and  with  the  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  to  ac- 
cept, as  the  exclusive  portion  of  India  to  be  occupied 
by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  three  provinces  : 
Oudh,  Rohilcund,  and  Ghurwal.     I  used  to  hear  Dr. 


Administeatiye  Embarrassmei^t.      369 

Durbin  and  the  Bishops  speaking  regretfully  afterward 
that  they  had  thus  precluded  American  Methodism 
from  the  great  capitals  and  most  of  the  territory  of 
India.  So  that  our  Missionary  Society  was  debarred 
from  entering  the  territory  now  embraced  within  the 
bounds  of  the  South  India  Conference,  containing  a 
population  of  238,000,000. 

Under  the  untrammeled  leading  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  I  gave  that  territory  to  Methodism,  and  legit- 
imately too,  by  the  elective  franchise  of  my  converted 
people,  of  which  they  could  not  be  deprived  by  the 
covenants  of  foreign  missionary  officials.  If  I  had 
waited,  therefore,  for  the  action  of  the  Missionary 
Board,  that  field  would  not  have  been  opened  to 
Methodism  yet. 

I  know  the  technical  hitch  in  the  way,  but  I  know, 
also,  that  there  is  an  essential  "  common  law  "  of  God 
and    Methodism   on   the  other   side   of   the   question. 
"  The  missionary  rule "  was  made  many  years  before 
my  self-supporting  missions  were  thought  of  as  a  pos- 
sibility, but  in  common  law  the  rule  is  just  as  suscepti- 
ble of  a  construction  in  favor  as  against  my  missions. 
The  object   of  the  law  was  to  provide  for  the  ordina- 
tion   of   men   for   foreign   mission    fields.     India   and 
South  America  are  foreign  fields,  and  my  missions  are 
as  purely  Methodistic  as  any  others,  and  need  ordained 
men  as  much  as   any  others  ;    but  because  the  Holy 
Ghost  did  not  find  it  convenient  to  wait  till  the  Mis- 
sionary   Committee  should   authorize  him  to  proceed, 
this  work  is  pronounced  irregular;  whereas  in  India 
the  Committee  could  not,  on  account  of  their  covenant 
precluding  them,   and  in  South  America  they  would 


870  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

not  for  want  of  faith  in  the  possibility  of  success  ;  and 
because  those  missions  refuse  foreign  missionary  money 
and  control,  a  narrow  construction  is  put  upon  the 
missionary  rule,  and  the  manifest  work  of  God  is  ob- 
structed. 

The  whole  Church  would  have  sustained  the  Bishops 
in  a  construction  more  liberal  and  more  in  accord  with 
our  common  Methodism  and  God's  leadings. 

Whenever  I  ask  the  Missionary  Society  for  funds  to 
support  me  or  my  missionaries,  then  I  will  consider 
myself  and  my  missions  as  under  their  legitimate  juris- 
diction and  subject  to  their  orders,  not  till  then  ;  but 
shall  be  glad  for  an  arrangement  by  which  I  can  put 
my  missions,  present  and  prospective,  under  Episcopal 
supervision,  just  as  I  asked  for  so  earnestly  before  I 
went  to  South  America.  I  am  not  the  man  to  make 
any  trouble  for  the  Bishops  or  Missionary  Committee, 
but  I  stand  conscientiously  on  clearly-defined  essential 
principles,  and,  with  my  present  convictions,  could  not 
depart  from  them  without  infringing  my  loyalty  to  God. 

I  never  made  a  report  of  my  mission  work  in  India 
to  our  missionary  secretaries,  and  never  will,  not  from 
any  prejudice  against  them  or  the  Society,  but  lest  they 
should  construe  it  into  an  abandonment  of  my  prin- 
ciples and  position. 

I  explained  all  these  things  to  Bishop  Janes  and  Dr. 
Eddy  years  ago,  and  am  sorry  that  I  have  any  occasion 
to  restate  them,  which,  however,  I  do  cheerfully,  that 
you  may  know  that  I  am  not  acting  under  any  pique 
or  caprice,  but  on  a  great  principle  essential  to  the 
Pauline  methods  of  utilizing  indigenous  resources  in 
founding  self-supporting  missions. 


ADMmiSTKATIVE   EMBARRASSMENT.        371 

It  is  simply  the  principle  on  which  Methodism  was 
founded  before  we  had  any  Missionary  Society. 

As  soon  as  I  see  it  possible,  without  laying  my  men 
liable  to  be  driven  out  of  those  Roman  Catholic,  coun- 
ties by  breaking  faith  with  them,  or  appearing  to  do 
so,  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  have  a  Bishop  go  down 
and  ordain  them ;  but,  at  present,  of  the  two  evils,  we 
must  choose  the  less,  and  keep  quiet  till  we  can  get  a 
sure  footing,  and  see  the  Lord's  way  out  of  our  embar- 
rassment in  not  having  ordained  men. 
Your  Brother, 

WILLIAM  TAYLOR. 

Episcopal  letter  No.  3  is  dated  February  15, 
1879: 
Dear  Brother  Taylor  : 

I  have  carefully  read  your  letter,  and  approve  of  its 
spirit,  but  I  cannot  quite  see  as  you  do.  The  Church 
has  selected  certain  officers.  They  must  work  as  the 
Church  dictates.  You  give  them  too  supreme  author- 
ity. ISTor  should  the  Bishops  ordain  men  for  sections 
they  cannot  officially  visit.  As  it  appears  it  would  be 
unfair  for  them,  injurious  to  the  work,  and  reflect  on 
you  for  them  to  visit  places  where  our  preachers  are 
sowing. 

St.  Paul's  plan  never  was  to  create  Churches  over 
which  the  Apostolic  Board  had  not  supervision.  We 
had  better,  I  think,  walk  a  little  slower,  and  walk  on 
Church  lines.  Still,  I  admire  your  ardor,  and  hope  you 
will  have  success. 

The  results  of  your  work  in  South  America  will  be 


372  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

effected  badly  by  making  it  too  much  an  educational 
work.  That  was  not  the  Pauline  method,  nor  to  live 
off  of  bad  rich  men  by  teaching  their  children,  and 
failing  to  organize  Churches.  He  lived  at  tent-making, 
and  was  independent  of  rich  sinners  and  Romanists. 

If  you  wish  to  have  those  going  out  ordained,  I 
presume  it  can  be  done  if  you  let  it  be  known  in  sea- 
son, as  we  can  now  exercise  that  privilege. 

Wishing  you  great  success  in  bringing  souls  to  Christ, 
I  remain  Very  truly  yours, 


Reply: 

Railway  Station,  Toronto,  Canada,  February  21,  1879. 
Rev.  Bishop  : 

Dear  Brother — I  am  writing  on  my  knee  whilo 
waiting  for  a  train.  I  am  sorry  that  I  have  not  been 
able  to  stale  the  peculiar  principles  and  facts  in  regard 
to  my  work  so  that  you  could  clearly  understand  them. 
Those  I  stated  in  regard  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Committee,  and  the  wider  episcopal  jurisdic- 
tion of  our  Bishops,  define  a  fact  which  pervades  the 
foundation  principles  and  historical  precedents  of  Meth- 
odism. The  present  aspect  of  my  work  in  South  Amer- 
ica is  peculiar  and  exceptional.  I  shall  be  glad  if 
soon  our  brave  men  there  may  be  able  to  get  such  a 
footing  in  those  Roman  Catholic  countries  ns  to  organ- 
ize Churches,  as  in  India,  and  put  the  work  under  Epis- 
copal supervision.  But,  as  I  said  before,  having  a  writ- 
ten contract  with  my  patrons  there,  extending  for  three 
years,  based  on  a  non-denominational  principle,  I  would 
not  feel  at  liberty  to  transfer  the  work  to  any  Church 
administration.      It  would  be   a  breach  of  faith  that 


ADMimSTEATIVE   EMBARRASSMENT.        373 

would  not  be  right,  and  would  work  disastrously 
against  us.  Hence  I  give  it  as  my  judgment  that  the 
only  honorable  and  safe  way  is  to  wait  and  see  what 
can  be  done  on  the  present  basis. 

My  patrons  in  South  America  have  not,  like  my  pa- 
trons in  Madras,  India,  stipulated  that  I  shall  not  organ- 
ize a  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  among  them,  so  that 
the  coast  is  all  clear  for  organizing  when  the  possibility 
for  it  shall  come.  I  organized  a  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  Madras  on  the  advice  of  the  very  men  who 
in  their  invitation  to  me  to  come  to  that  city  stipulated 
in  writing  that  I  should  not  so  organize.  If  our  Bishops 
had  insisted  on  officially  visiting  my  work  in  that  city, 
and  gone  in  before  gospel  Methodism  could  have  been 
planted  and  developed  into  the  proportions  of  organic 
life,  they  would  have  crushed  the  eggs  before  incuba- 
tion was  possible.  Hence  your  conclusions  that  I  wish 
to  preclude  the  Bishops  from  my  fields  are  not  fair. 

You  say,  "  Walk  a  little  slower,  and  walk  on  Church 
lines." 

I  think  our  Church  has  walked  slowly  enough  into 
South  America.  She  commenced  her  march  in  that 
continent  of  nations  in  1835,  and  retreated  and  recalled 
all  her  missionaries,  but  afterward  consented  to  let  one 
remain  at  the  special  call  of  the  English  people  of 
Buenos  Ayres. 

If  I  had  "held  my  men  back"  from  going  to  South 
America  till  after  the  meeting  of  the  Missionary  Com- 
mittee, in  November,  I  would  have  forfeited  my  engage- 
ment with  the  South  Americans  to  send  them  in  June  ; 
I  would  have  been  untrue  to  God  and  the  obligation  he 

had  laid  upon  me.     Failure  and  demoralization  would 
24 


374  Self-Suppokting  Missions. 

have  followed,  and  the  Committee  would  have  taken  no 
action  except,  perhaps,  to  reproach  me  for  my  folly  and 

failure. 

You  said  Paul  had  nothing  to  do  with  schools,  and 
was  "  independent  of  rich  sinners  and  Romanists." 

He  acknowledged  indebtedness  to  all  sorts  of  folks- 
even  "  to  barbarians,"  and  seems  to  have  been  very  im- 
portant for  a  couple  of  years  in  the  "school  of  Tyrannus." 

When  I  learn  that  the  Methodists  refuse  financial 
help  from  "  rich  sinners  "  I  will  consider  the  case. 

Nearly  all  the  missionaries  of  all  the  Churches  spend 
most  of  their  time  in  organizing  and  teaching  schools, 
at  the  cost,  for  the  most  part,  of  their  missionary 
societies. 

I  aim  first  to  put  in  men  devoted  wholly  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry,  but  where  I  find  grading  and  track 
laying  to  be  done,  by  organizing  schools  under  thorough 
missionary  Methodist  teachers,  we  undertake  the  busi- 
ness in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  on  the  Pauline  plan 
of  self-support,  and  let  the  "  rich  sinners  and  Romanists  " 
foot  the  bills,  instead  of  laying  that  burden  on  "the 
poor  saints  in  Judea." 

To  sum  up  the  leading  facts  in  regard  to  my  peculiar 
MISSIONARY  WORK,  I  remark  : 

1.  The  Spirit  of  God  has  laid  upon  me  the  responsi- 
bility, and  has  thus  far  led  me  in  the  work  of  utilizing 
indigenous  resources  for  founding  self-supporting  mis- 
sions for  the  conversion  of  the  natives  of  the  countries 
into  which  he  leads  me.  He  called  me  to  this  work 
just  at  the  time  I  had  set  to  close  my  foreign  evangel- 
izing tours,  and  return  to  my  family  and  to  my  regular 
itinerant  work  in  California.     Thus  my  cherished  hope 


Administeative  Embarrassment.      375 

of  years  was  blighted.  I  am  a  man  of  the  strongest 
home  affections  and  preferences,  with  no  earthly  am- 
bition for  foreign  travel  and  labor.  My  ambition  was 
to  stay  at  home.  So  that  "I  suffer  the  loss  of  all 
things"  naturally  dear  to  me. 

I  am  by  nature  a  conservative,  and  a  man  of  peace  ; 
hence,  to  collide  in  any  way  with  the  administration  of 
our  Church  is  to  me  very  painful. 

The  work  I  am  called  to  do  is  on  the  line  of  human 
impossibilities.  During  my  campaign  in  South  America, 
in  many  a  struggle  of  prayer,  I  said  to  God,  most  rev- 
erently and  earnestly  :  "  Unless  thou  wilt,  in  thine  in- 
finite wisdom  and  might,  take  the  whole  responsibility 
of  this  work,  then  let  me  go  home.  Let  me  settle  down 
in  some  obscure  dell  in  the  West,  and  hide  away  from 
the  strife  of  tongues  and  the  gaze  of  men."  The  Lord 
would  not  release  me,  but  led  me  on,  and  used  me  to 
do  "the  impossible  things."  Until  he  does  release  me, 
I  am  bound  to  proceed  and  fight  it  out  on  this  line  : 
first,  in  opening  fields  as  the  Lord  shall  direct  ;  sec- 
ond, in  accepting  and  adjusting  the  missionary  workers 
he  may  be  pleased  to  give  me ;  third,  to  allow  friends 
voluntarily  to  furnish  the  funds  for  their  passage  and 
outfit. 

Organization. 

As  fast  as  we  get  people  converted  to  God  we  organ- 
ize them  into  "Fellowship  Bands" — New  Testament 
Churches — in  the  houses  of  our  people.  All  my  mis- 
sionaries are  Methodists,  and  most  of  them  are  liberally 
educated,  and  will,  I  believe,  do  thorough  Methodist 
work  according  to  the  Gospel.  There  is,  therefore,  a 
strong    presumption    that    the    movement    in    South 


Oi 


Self-supporting  Missions. 


America,  as  in  India,  will  result  in  voluntary  loyal 
organic  Methodism.  As  soon  as  that  result  is  attained 
the  work,  just  the  same  as  in  India,  will  come  directly 
and  unreservedly  under  our  Episcopal  administration, 
not  as  Mission  Conferences,  but,  as  in  India,  regular 
indigenous  self-supporting  Annual  Conferences,  patron- 
izing and  helping  the  funds  of  our  Missionary  Society, 
but  sustaining  to  it  no  other  relation  than  that  of  the 
Ohio,  or  any  other  conference  developed  purely  from 
indigenous  resources. 

Late  Action  of  the  Missionary  Committee. 

If  its  object  is  simply  the  "recognition  of  my  work," 
and  for  the  removal  of  what  appears  to  be  legal  ob- 
structions to  the  ordination  of  my  men,  I  will  make  no 
objection  to  it. 

But  our  Missionary  Society  is  not  to  be  involved  in 
any  financial  responsibility  on  account  of  my  missions, 
nor  to  exercise  any  official  control  over  them,  nor  over 
the  appointment  of  men  to  them.  At  the  beginning,  as 
a  peace  measure,  I  offered  the  Society  a  share  in  my 
work  so  far  as  to  select  missionaries  and  pay  their  pas- 
sage, provided  that  they  should  not  assume  the  control 
of  my  missions.  They  seemed  to  concur,  but  did  not 
send  us  half  as  many  as  we  could  have  got  in  that  time 
without  their  aid;  and  when  finally,  from  want  of  funds, 
they  declined  to  supply  our  demand,  I  released  them 
from  any  further  responsibility  in  regard  to  my  work. 

I  should  be  most  happy  to  lay  this  whole  responsi- 
bility on  the  Church,  but  God  has  laid  it  upon  me.  I 
cannot  shirk  from  it,  nor  shift  it,  and  hence  must  bear 
it  cheerfully  till  he  shall  see  fit  to  release  me. 


Administeative  Embarrassment.      377 

Now,  if  our  dear  Bishops  can  see  their  way  to  adjust 
themselves  to  these  providential  facts,  and  ordain  my 
men,  and  allow  them  to  retain  a  conference  relation  at 
home,  and  be  returned  missionaries  to  South  America, 
as  I  so  earnestly  requested  before  I  went  to  South 
America,  I  shall  be  glad. 

In  regard  to  the  dear  fellows  now  in  the  field,  as 
soon  as  they  get  a  footing  in  the  country,  and  decide 
that  it  will  be  safe,  in  their  peculiar  position,  to  receive 
the  visit  of  a  Bishop  for  the  purpose  of  their  ordination, 
we  shall  be  delighted  to  have  one  visit  that  coast,  and 
do  all  the  good  he  can.  If  the  Board  of  Bishops  cannot 
accede  to  my  respectful '  requests,  in  accordance  with 
the  facts  in  the  case,  I  shall  be  very  sorry,  but  shall  be 
obliged  to  proceed  as  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  do 
the  work  that  he  may  assign  to  me.  He  is  in  your 
work,  and  he  is  in  mine,* and  he  will  not  antagonize 
himself. 

Your  brother  in  Jesus, 

WILLIAM  TAYLOR. 

The  Bishop's  fourth  letter,  dated  March  3, 

1879: 

Dear  Brother  Taylor: 

Your  letter  of  the  28th  ult.  did  not  reach  me  till 
yesterday.  I  could  not,  therefore,  get  an  answer  to 
you  by  the  11th,  as  you  asked.  I  hope  this  will  reach 
you.  I  read  your  two  letters  carefully.  It  is  not 
necessary  that  the  points  they  raise  should  be  con- 
sidered. You  have  made  such  arrangements  that  I 
judge  the  Board  of  Bishops  will  not  deem  it  advisable 
to  send   any  of  their  number  to   the  west  coast  this 


378  Self-supporting  Missions. 

year,  though  that  I  cannot  decide  upon.  The  Board  is 
very  anxious  to  help,  not  harm,  your  undertakings  by 
getting  the  brethren  in  orders,  and  into  regular  Church 
work  as  soon  as  possible.  But  your  agreement  with 
parties  there  that  no  Church  shall  be  organized  under 
three  years  would  prevent  their  visiting  your  work. 

You  speak  of  the  ordination  of  those  who  are  going. 
I  wrote  you  in  my  last  and  advised  that  you  have  them 
ordained.  It  can  now  be  done  legally,  as  the  Com- 
mittee have  established  the  Central  and  Western  South 
American  Missions.  I  advise  you  to  get  all  those  who 
are  going  out  recommended  for  orders  and  admission. 
They  can  be  ordained,  admitted,  and  stationed  as  you 
suggest,  missionaries  to  Western  South  America  and 
Central  America.  You  could  also  be  made  superin- 
tendent of  the  same  missions,  if  you  wish,  I  have  no 
doubt,  remaining  as  a  member  of  the  South  India  Con- 
ference, or  being  transferred  to  one  of  the  American 
Conferences.  The  Bishops  concur  with  me  in  this 
opinion.  Write  me  soon  if  you  thus  wish,  and  I  can 
transfer  you  to  New  York  East  Conference,  of  which 
I  have  charge,  and  appoint  you  superintendent. 

Send  your  names  and  men  there  and  they  will  be 
ordained  and  admitted.         Yours  truly, 


I  answered  to  the  proposed  ordination,  Yes ; 
to  my  appointment  as  superintendent  of  my 
own  missions  in  South  America,  No. 


Points  not  to  be  Considekep.       379 


XX. 

THE  POINTS  NOT  TO  BE  CONSIDERED. 

The  Bishop  said,  "I  have  read  your  two 
letters  carefully.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the 
points  they  raise  should  be  considered." 

The  points  I  raise  are  the  points  which 
peculiarly  distinguish  self-supporting  missions, 
which  I  have  stated  fully  in  the  sixth  chapter 
of  this  work,  and  which  are  contained,  some- 
what at  length,  in  my  replies  to  the  foregoing 
Episcopal  letters. 

Two  of  my  points  represent  two  distinct 
kinds  of  missionary  work :  the  first  based  on 
the  two  business  principles  I  have  explained, 
the  second  on  "  the  charity  principle." 

The  two  methods  of  work  were  incidentally 
brought  out  at  the  meeting  of  our  Missionary 
Committee  for  1878.  The  representation  of 
work  in  India  reported  North  India  Confer- 
ence as  receiving  from  the  missionary  treasury 
during  the  year  over  $60,000.  The  South 
India  Conference,  nothing,  though  a  nominal 
appropriation  of  $500  is  annually  put  on  the 
list. 


380  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Bishop  Ames  raised  tlie  question,  "Why  is 
tliis  ?  Here  are  two  Conferences  in  tlie  same 
country,  about  equal  in  size,  the  one  fifteen  years 
older  than  the  other;  the  older  receiving  an- 
nually the  largest  appropriation  of  the  Church, 
the  younger  nothing,  and  never  from  the  first 
received  a  dollar  from  home  for  the  support  of 
her  ministers.  How  do  you  account  for  such 
a  difference  ? " 

Bishop  Andrews,  having  just  returned  from 
India,  replied  that  "  Mr.  Taylor's  people  are  a 
well-to-do  people.  Many  of  them  receive 
wages  for  their  work  ranging  from  300  to  500 
rupees  per  month,  (value  of  a  rupee  about  half 
a  dollar.)  They  are  able  to  build  churches 
and  support  their  ministers,  and  they  do  it. 
But  the  people  among  whom  we  have  planted 
missions  in  the  North  are  very  poor  people. 
Instead  of  500  rupees,  perhaps  no  one  of  them 
would  get  more  than  ^ve  rupees  per  month 
($2  50)  on  which  to  support  a  family;  and 
any  one  of  them  can  carry  his  whole  estate  in 
a  knapsack  on  his  back." 

That  was  accepted  as  a  satisfactory  answer. 
Well,  there  are  hundreds,  millions,  of  just  such 
poor  people  in  Asiatic  countries,  and  to  send 
them  the  Gospel  prepaid,  found  schools,  edur 


POIJSTTS    NOT    TO    BE    CoNSIDEEED.  381 

cate,  elevate  and  save  those  millions  who  are 
emphatically  objects  of  charity,  is  the  grandest 
work  of  benevolence  in  the  v^orld.  This  is 
peculiarly  the  kind  of  woik  that  is  being  done 
by  all  the  missionary  organizations  on  the 
earth;  and  they  will  require  fifty  times  more 
money  and  men  than  they  have  ever  received 
or  sent  to  overtake  in  a  thousand  years  at  pres- 
ent rate  of  speed  the  demands  of  this  kind  of 
work. 

But  what  about  the  "  ^ve  -  hundred  -  rupee  " 
men  ?  They  are  the  men  who,  as  a  class,  have 
never  been  reached  by  the  missionaries  of  these 
great  benevolent  institutions;  and,  while  the 
law^s  of  human  nature  I'emain  w^hat  they  are, 
they  and  the  classes  above  them  never  can  be 
reached  on  a  charity  principle. 

Has  the  great  Father  of  his  perishing  "  off- 
spring "  no  other  resource — no  other  plan  of 
work  by  ^vhich  those  classes  may  be  saved  ? 
They  are  the  people  w^ho  have  the  brains,  edu- 
cation, wealth  and  influence,  so  requisite  to  the 
full  and  final  triumph  of  his  Gospel  among  all 
grades  of  all  the  nations. 

The  points  I  have  "  raised  "  indicate  a  royal 
charter,  the  right  of  way,  the  resources,  and  the 
agency  by  which  the  Holy  Ghost  did  at  the 


382  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

beginning  simultaneously  reacli  from  '^  Caesar's 
household  "  down  to  the  beggars  who  sat  at  the 
gates  of  the  rich. 

These  are  "  the  points  "  that  are  not  "  to  be 
considered."  It  is  no  use  to  talk  about  apos- 
tolic methods  of  seK-supporting  mission  work, 
and  of  the  pioneer  work  of  Methodism  done 
on  this  plan,  for  such  points  are  ''not  to  be 
considered." 

Why  not  ? 

Because,  as  it  appears  from  the  evidence  ad- 
duced, that  our  Missionary  Committee  assume 
to  have  an  absolute  monopoly  of  the  missionary 
business,  so  far  as  Methodism  is  concerned,  in  all 
foreign  countries,  and,  the  Board  of  Bishops  con- 
curring, the  whole  thing  was  legally  settled  long 
ago.  So  that  when  self-supporting  Methodist 
Churches,  not  of  their  planting,  sprang  up  in 
Bombay,  and  asked  to  be  recognized  hy  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  instead  of  the  General  Commit- 
tee of  Missions,  it  was  regarded  as  obtrusive, 
and  as  starting  an  unlawful  competition  in  the 
missionary  business,  and  must  hence  be  brought 
under  subjection  to  the  Missionary  Board. 

The  first  plan  proposed  was  to  "  jump  my 
claim,"  as  the  miners  would  say. 

Twenty  thousand  dollars  were  appropriated 


Points  not  to  be  Considered.        383 

by  tlie  Board  to  begin  with  for  founding  a 
Maratti  Mission  in  Bombay.  Immediately  tliere 
appeared  in  the  "  Missionary  Advocate  "  a  set- 
ting forth  of  the  grand  advance  movement  to 
be  made,  under  the  heading — 

Bombay  to  be  entered, 
with  a  full  representation  of  the  great  field, 
ripe  for  the  reapers  soon  to  be  sent  out,  and  an 
appeal  to  the  Church  for  the  funds. 

My  patient  wife  in  California,  who  had  given 
her  husband  for  missionary  work  among  the 
heathen,  put  a  squib  into  some  paper,  under  the 
heading — "  Bombay  entered  a  year  ago,  and  a 
Methodist  mission  established,  and  a  number 
of  natives  already  converted  to  God." 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  Committee  the 
$20,000  appropriation  was  withdrawn,  and  we 
were  saved  the  humiliating  spectacle  of  two 
rival  missions  of  the  same  Church  in  that 
city. 

The  next  thing  was  to  appoint  and  send  out 
one  of  their  men  as  superintendent  of  my  mis- 
sion in  Bombay.  One  grand,  good  Bishop  was 
fully  determined  to  carry  that  measure,  but  a 
weightier  member  of  the  Board  of  Bishops 
fought  it  from  the  start,  and  all  through,  till  it 


384  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

was  abandoned.  This  lie  afterward  told  me 
himself. 

Pending  this  proposition,  one  of  the  secre- 
taries wrote  me,  saying :  ''  We  rejoice  greatly 
in  your  success  in  Bombay,  and  after  prayerful 
consideration  of  the  subject,  we  think  it  advis- 
able to  send  out  a  man  of  years  and  experience 
as  superintendent  of  that  work." 

That  was  a  feeling  letter,  and  I  respectfully 
replied,  "Brother,  we  have  two  men  on  the 
ground  of  that  sort.  The  first  is  Rev.  George 
Bowen,  who  has  been  here  for  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  and  has  come  into  our  work  with 
a  rich  India  experience.    The  second  is  myself." 

The  next  thing  was  to  appoint  me  superin- 
tendent, which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  done, 
under  what  I  thought  was  an  unequivocal 
pledge  that  our  self-supporting  principles,  char- 
acter and  mission  work  should  not  come  under 
the  control  of  the  Missionary  Society,  nor  be 
interfered  with  by  it.  This  is  one  of  the  points 
which  "it  is  unnecessary  to  consider."  The 
Bishops  have  their  work  assigned  them.  They 
live  in  the  sphere  of  their  official  duties,  are 
worked  nearly  to  death,  and  some  of  them  quite. 
They  have  no  time  "  to  consider  my  points,"  and 
don't  consider  it  at  all  necessary,  as  their  line 


Points  not  to  be  Considered.        385 

of  duty  in  tlie  matter  is  clearly  defined  ^'  by  tlie 
Discipline."  I  don't  mean  to  cast  the  sliglitest 
reflection  upon  our  good  and  great  representa- 
tive men.  They  are  men  of  God,  and  doing 
conscientiously  what  they  believe  to  be  right, 
and  that  is  all  the  worse  for  my  self-supporting 
missions,  for  they  seem  to  think  that  they  will 
do  God  and  his  Church  good  service  when  they 
shall,  by  any  means,  extinguish  alike  our  prin- 
ciples and  professions  of  self-support,  and  bring 
the  whole  of  my  missions  under  the  control  of 
the  Missionary  Committee  on  a  common  level 
with  their  own  missions. 

The  Bishops  presiding  at  the  South  India 
Conference  have,  in  all  kindness,  of  course, 
recommended  that  the  South  India  Conference 
appoint  a  Missionary  Committee  to  receive  ap- 
propriations from  the  Board  in  New  York,  as 
do  all  the  younger  Conferences  in  America. 
Once  a  resolution  to  that  effect  was  proposed 
on  the  floor  of  the  South  India  Conference,  and 
was  instantly  killed. 

By  a  recent  order  from  the  Board  of  Bishops, 
I  am  requested  to  send  the  papers  of  candidates 
for  ordination  for  my  missions  sometime  in  ad- 
vance, so  that  they  can  be  duly  examined  and 
approved.      I   learned   further   that   the  said 


386  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

papers  had  to  be  passed  upon  by  the  mission- 
ary secretaries  ;  tlms  transfering  to  them  the 
responsibility  of  selecting  men  for  my  work, 
and  putting  this  essential  department  practi- 
cally under  their  control. 

Then,  the  great  work  of  the  Committee  in  es- 
tablishing missions  in  South  America.  The 
only  missions  they  ever  really  established  in 
South  America  are  the  three  in  Argentina  and 
Uruguay,  employing  three  missionaries  and 
some  native  helpers.  They  have  accomplished 
a  great  work  in  that  field  during  the  last  forty- 
seven  years,  and  have  a  grand  future  of  success 
awaiting  them  I  doubt  not.  The  appropria- 
tion of  the  Board  for  those  missions  last 
November  was  about  $12,000. 

But  the  greatest  show  of  progress  seen  lately 
was  in  the  large  number  of  missions  "estab- 
lished "  by  the  Committee  last  November.  We 
read  in  their  reports  that  they  have  established 
a  "North-eastern  South  American  Mission," 
"  a  Western  South  American  Mission,"  and  "  a 
Central  American  Mission,"  and  made  an  ap- 
propriation of  $200  to  each  one  of  those  grand 
missions.  The  passage  fare  for  one  person  from 
New  York  to  Valparaiso,  in  the  Western  South 
American  Mission,  is  $350.     My  dear  sirs,  if 


Points  not  to  be  Consideeed.        387 

they  can  found  and  run  missions  so  cheaply, 
they  ought  very  soon  to  penetrate  all  the  dark 
places  of  the  earth. 

I  have  been  in  all  those  countries  in  South 
America,  but  have  not  seen  nor  heard  of  those 
missions  '^  established  "  by  the  Board. 

I  have  forty-five  hard  working  Methodist 
men  and  women  in  those  fields  grading  and  pre- 
paring the  way  of  the  Lord  ;  but  we  cannot  tell 
when  nor  in  what  manner  he  may  reveal  "  his 
glory."  He  may  lead  us  in  and  lay  upon  us 
the  responsibility  of  refoi'ming  the  old-estab- 
lished Churches  of  those  South  American  na- 
tions ;  and  we  intend  to  remain  entirely  free  for 
that,  or  any  thing  else  the  Lord  will  have  us  do. 

As  before  stated,  there  is  a  strong  presump- 
tion that  if  we  succeed  in  our  work,  as  we  hope, 
it  will  develop  organically  the  same  as  in  India, 
but  we  don't  know  that.  While  thus  engaged 
in  preparatory  work  in  Roman  Catholic  coun- 
tries, to  make  a  blow  about  establishing  Meth- 
odist missions,  and  receiving  Episcopal  visita- 
tions, will  seriously  interfere  with  our  work,  if 
not  defeat  it  altogether.  "  Surely  in  vain  the 
net  is  spread  in  the  sight  of  any  bird."  Prov. 
1.  17.  I  have  no  nets  to  spread,  but  I  don't 
want  others  to  frighten  away  my  birds.     We 


388  Self-Suppokting  Missions. 

don't  go  to  catcL.  people  "by  guile,"  as  was 
slanderously  charged  against  Paul.  We  go  in 
our  true  character  as  Methodists.  We  2:0 
avowedly  to  do  the  people  good  regardless  of 
name,  nationality  or  creed.  We  don't  go  to 
establish  Methodist  missions,  but  to  do  the 
work  that  God  shall  make  it  possible  for  us  to 
do.  We  don't  go  to  work  as  journeymen  for 
any  other  Church.  If  in  the  good  providence 
of  God  we  develop  organic  results,  w^e  expect 
that  the  outcome  will  be  the  original  self- 
sacrificing,  self-reliant,  hardy  type  of  Method- 
ism. We  are  not,  however,  absolutely  certain 
that  we  shall  succeed  in  founding  Methodist 
Churches  and  missions.  Our  work,  instead, 
may  result  in  a  great  revival  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  Churches  of  that  country ;  if  so,  Amen ! 
So  I  insist  on  letting  the  Lord  have  his  own 
way  with  us  and  with  our  work.  I  don't 
defer  to  any  man  in  my  appreciation  of  Meth- 
od sim,  and  if  I  or  my  workers  are  violating  any 
law  of  the  Methodist  Discipline,  then  we  are 
open  to  arrest  and  trial.  "Witness  against  me 
before  the  Lord,  and  before  his  anointed : 
whose  ox  have  I  taken  ?  or  whose  ass  have  I 
taken  ?  or  whom  have  I  defrauded  ?  whom 
have   I   oppressed,  or  of  whose  hand  have  I 


POES^TS    NOT    TO    BE    Coi^SIDERED.  389 

received  any  bribe  to  blind  mine  eyes  there- 
witli  ?  and  I  will  restore  it." 

I  have  not  received  a  dollar  from  tlie  Churcli 
for  more  tlian  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  never 
expect  to,  though  I  expect  to  give  her  another 
quarter  of  effective  work  and  die  at  the  front 
of  her  battles. 

I  founded  my  missions  in  India  as  a  located 
minister — ^located  from  the  California  Confer- 
ence for  the  sake  of  a  world-wide  itinerancy. 

"  The  crime  or  impediment "  in  my  case  is 
simply  this:  that  God  has  led  me  to  found 
these  self-supporting  missions,  and  I  refused  to 
put  them  under  the  control  of  the  Missionary 
Board.  And  now  my  "  points  are  not  to  be 
considered,"  but  my  missions  are  to  be  captured 
and  put  under  their  control  in  spite  of  God 
and  of  me  his  servant.  The  arrangements,  as 
we  have  seen,  are  all  made,  and  if  I  would  only 
lay  down  and  die,  the  whole  scheme  would  be 
consummated  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Com- 
mittee. 

Now  if  my  dear  brethren  would  "  consider 
the  point "  made  by  that  philosophic  Pharisee 
we  read  about :  "  If  this  ...  be  of  men,  it  will 
come  to  naught ;  but  if  it  be  of  God,  ye  cannot 
overthrow  it,"  it  would  be  well. 

25 


390  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

They  assume,  and  most  of  tliem  believe  sin- 
cerely, not  having  "  considered  my  points,"  tliat 
they  are  rendering  great  service  to  my  work 
by  organizing  those  so-called  missions,  in  order 
that  I  may  get  mj  men  ordained.  That  is 
just  one  of  my  points  to  "be  considered,"  Why 
should  all  the  ordaining  functions  and  author- 
ity of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  be  put 
under  the  locks  and  keys  of  a  subsidiary  insti- 
tution of  the  Church  ?  Young  ministers,  class- 
ical and  theological  graduates,  fulfilling  all 
disciplinary  conference  conditions,  but,  after 
all,  can't  be  ordainod  for  a  foreign  self-support- 
ing work  unless  indentured  to  and  controlled  by 
a  Missionary  Board,  from  which  they  receive 
not  a  cent  of  money !     Have  we  come  to  that  ? 

Then  it  is  true  that  no  Methodist  minister 
has  a  right  to  get  poor  sinners  converted,  and 
organize  them  into  Methodist  Churches,  out- 
side of  the  United  States,  unless  sent  out  by 
this  Board.  Then  it  may  be  truly  said  we 
belong  to  the  "  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  limited.''''  No 
"legal  right"  of  extension  beyond  our  own 
national  boundaries,  except  by  the  charity 
missions  founded  in  foreign  fields  by  our  Mis- 
sionary Society. 


Points  not  to  be  Consideeed.        391 

If  that  is  settled  as  a  fact,  then  I  propose,  by 
the  will  of  God,  through  the  agency  of  located 
ministers,  local  preachers,  and  the  inspired 
"sons  and  daughters,  servants  and  maid-serv- 
ants "  of  our  Church,  to  plant  and  develop  the 
original  type  of  holy,  hardy,  self-supporting 
Methodism  in  the  "regions  beyond."  I  have 
nothing  to  do  with  secession  or  any  thing  of 
that  sort,  but  our  best  type  of  Methodism  is  not 
fully  represented  by  agents  of  charity  sent  out 
and  supported  by  missionary  money,  however 
able  and  devoted  the  men  may  be.  Paul  and 
his  coadjutors  were  a  hardy  lot  of  missionaries. 
He  says  to  the  Church  at  Thessalonica : 

"Neither  did  we  eat  any  man's  bread  for 
nought,  but  wrought  with  labor  and  travail 
night  and  day,  that  we  might  not  be  chargeable 
to  any  of  you :  not  because  we  have  not  power," 
[to  demand  a  support,]  "  but  to  make  ourselves 
an  ensample  unto  you  to  follow  us.  For  even 
when  we  were  with  you,  this  we  commanded 
you,  that  if  any  would  not  work,  neither  should 
he  eat."  2  Thess.  iii,  8-10.  Paul  was  a  pioneer, 
founding  and  developing  in  that  way  industri- 
ous, self-supporting  Churches. 

Our  Methodist  workers,  of  the  most  self-re- 
liant aggressive  tyj)e,  are  of  too  great  value  to 


892  Self-Suppokting  Missioi^s. 

the  world  at  large  to  be  all  kept  legally  locked 
up  in  America.  God  needs  sucli  among  remote 
nations  as  well  as  at  home,  that  they  may  go 
"every- where  preaching  the  word."  The  more 
our  Church  becomes  the  means  of  blessing 
abroad,  so  will  be  the  increase  of  God's  blessing 
upon  her  at  home. 

Paul  was  not  "  sent  out  by  the  apostolic  col- 
lege of  Jerusalem."  He  refutes  that  allegation 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  saying  :  *^  I  cer- 
tify you,  brethren,  that  the  gospel  which  was 
preached  of  me  is  not  after  man.  For  I  neither 
received  it  of  man,  neither  was  I  taught  it,  but 
by  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ.  .  .  .  But  when 
it  pleased  God  to  reveal  his  Son  in  me,  that  I 
might  preach  him  among  the  heathen  ;  immedi- 
ately I  conferred  not  with  flesh  and  blood: 
neither  went  I  up  to  Jerusalem  to  them  which 
were  apostles  before  me,"  (to  get  ordination.) 
"  I  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  see  Peter,  and  abode 
with  him  fifteen  days.  But  other  of  the  apos- 
tles saw  I  none,  save  James  the  Lord's  brother." 

Thus  a  pioneer  founder  of  missions  of  the 
original  type  must  be  called  to  that  responsi- 
bility by  God,  and  proceed  under  the  immedi- 
ate supervision  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

That  was  then,  and  is  now,  the  only  way  by 


PoiiN^TS  :n'ot  to  be  Considered.        393 

whicli  sucli  missions  can  be  established.  Or- 
ganization, administration,  and  law  are  essential, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  works  by  a  ^'  diversity  of 
operations "  in  all  these.  But,  in  founding 
self-supporting  Churches  in  the  "regions  be- 
yond," he  claims  the  right  to  lead  his  pioneers 
high  above  all  human  authority. 

Suppose  Paul  had  gone  out  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  Missionary  Committee  and  Board 
of  Bishops  in  Jerusalem.  After  visiting  a  few 
Churches  on  the  way  he  is  sent  to  found  a 
mission  in  Asia — Corea  and  Mysia — Ephesus 
being  the  capital.  He  has  with  him  Silas  and 
Timotheus.  Before  they  reached  their  destina- 
tion, "  they  were  forbidden  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  preach  the  word  in  Asia." 

They  beg  the  Holy  Spirit  to  wait  till  they 
can  be  released  by  the  Board  in  Jerusalem. 
The  Committee  having  just  closed  their  annual 
session,  they  lie  off  in  suspense  for  a  whole 
year,  with  a  solemn  reminder  now  and  again 
from  the  missionary  secretaries  of  the  possible 
consequences  of  disobeying  the  rule  and  Disci- 
pline of  the  Church.  Finally,  they  get  their 
change  of  appointment  to  proceed  to  Bythinia, 
and  as  they  were  about  to  enter  the  city,  "  the 
Spirit  suffered  them  not." 


894  Self-Supporting  Missioxs. 

So  another  year  is  wasted,  and  liard  things 
are  said  about  Paul  and  his  foreign  missionary 
operations ;  but  finally  he  gets  an  order  to  go 
to  Troas,  and  the  very  first  night  "  a  vision  ap- 
peared to  Paul  in  the  night ;  there  stood  a  man 
of  Macedonia,  and  prayed  him,  saying.  Come 
over  into  Macedonia,  and  help  us."  And  Dr. 
Luke,  who  joined  Paul's  party  there,  adds : 
"  And  after  he  had  seen  the  vision,  immediately 
we  endeavored  to  go  into  Macedonia,  assuredly 
gathering  that  the  Lord  had  called  us  for  to 
preach  the  gospel  unto  them."     Acts  xvi,  9   10. 


Missionary  Methods  Illustrated.    395 


XXL 

SPHERE  OF   THE    TWO  MISSIONARY 
METHODS  ILLUSTRATED. 

I  MAKE  no  criticism  on  missionary  organiza- 
tions and  operations  as  applied  to  their  legiti- 
mate field,  as  great  benevolent  institutions. 
But  when  tlie  board  of  managers  of  an  orphan 
asylum  assay  to  make  laws  to  regulate  and  re- 
strict the  independent  industries  of  the  coun- 
try, they  furnish  ground  for  remonstrance  from 
the  other  side. 

I  again  aver  that  God's  original  Pauline  way 
of  planting  missions  does  not  come  legitimately 
within  the  province  of  the  charity  principle  on 
which  all  Missionary  Societies  are  founded,  and 
that,  with  all  the  wisdom  and  piety  possible, 
they  are  as  poorly  adapted  to  founding  self- 
supporting  missions,  and  to  the  nurture  of 
Churches  thus  founded,  as  the  grand  charity 
institutions  of  our  country  are  adapted  to  the 
construction  and  running  of  our  railroads. 
This  does  not  involve  the  slightest  reflection 
on  our  benevolent  institutions,  but  simply 
asserts  the  fact  that  their  province  and  juris- 


396  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

diction  do  not  cover  that  of  the  railroad  com- 
panies. What  God  now  requires  is  a  railroad 
company,  with  right  of  way  to  bear  at  least  its 
proportion  of  responsibility  in  carrying  the 
Gospel  to  "  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  " 
on  his  original  business  principles.  We  don't 
need  any  new  thing,  though  we  have  used  a 
new  name  for  it  by  way  of  illustration. 

A  pioneer  founder  of  God's  original  t}^e  of 
missions,  as  I  have  said,  must  be  called  specially 
to  that  work  by  God,  and  proceed  under  the 
immediate  supervision  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  That 
was  then,  and  is  now,  the  only  way  by  which 
such  missions  can  be  established.  Suitable 
organization,  administration  and  law,  which  are 
essential,  will  all  come  in  under  "the  diversity 
of  operations  of  the  same  Spirit." 

The  first  thing  is  to  get  a  footing  in  a  foreign 
field,  and,  by  gospel  conquest,  raise  up  a  wit- 
nessing host  out  of  which  to  develop  organiza- 
tion. 

The  order  of  God  in  such  work  is,  first, 
"  apostles  " — pioneer  founders ;  second,  "  proph- 
ets " — the  witnessing  host  "  of  sons  and  daugh- 
ters, servants  and  maid-servants,"  as  foretold  by 
Joel ;  third,  evangelists  for  carrying  the  war 
into  all  the  regions  round  about  the  ceiitral  move- 


Mission AEY  Methods  Illustkated.    397 

ment ;  fourth,  ''  pastors  and  teachers  "  for  the 
edification  of  the  churches  thus  founded.  This 
is  God's  arrangement  for  conquest,  and  ^'  for 
the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  for  the  edifying  the  body  of  Christ." 
Eph.  iv,  11,  12. 

I  claim  for  the  Missionary  Societies  that  they 
have  done  much,  and  will  yet  do  more  in  all 
the  departments  of  this  Divine  programme, 
just  as  orphanages  and  houses  of  industry  for 
poor  children  have  their  industries,  and  develop 
good  men  and  women,  but  not  of  the  high 
type  and  grand  proportions  of  the  great  com- 
mercial and  mechanical  world  outside. 

So,  as  I  have  shown  in  defining  the  "  three 
principles,"  there  are,  in  God's  plan,  two  dis- 
tinct kinds  of  missionary  work.  On  this  I 
remark : 

1.  That  the  organized  Missionary  Societies 
have  no  provision  adequate  to  this  original 
type  of  planting  missions. 

I  will  give  a  few  illustrations  on  that  line. 
When  I  was  working  as  an  evangelist  for  the 
Wesley  an  missionaries  in  British  Guiana,  South 
America,  fifteen  years  ago,  I  heard  that  the 
people  of  Paramaribo,  the  capital  of  Dutch  Gui- 
ana, two  days  south  of  us  by  steamer,  had  for 


398  Self-Suppoeti^-g  Missions. 

twenty  years  been  petitioning  tlie  Wesleyan  Mis- 
sionary Society  to  send  missionaries  to  that 
city,  and  that  tlie  municipal  government  had 
offered  them  by  gift  a  good  site  for  mission 
premises.  I  considered  that  an  opening,  and 
after  satisfying  myself  fully  as  to  facts  in  the 
case,  I  proposed  to  go  to  Paramaribo,  and  have 
a  hundred  or  two  of  the  perishing  people  con- 
verted, and  organize  a  self-supporting  mission  to 
be  added  to  their  list  of  loyal  missions  in  Brit- 
ish Guiana.  The  only  condition  I  required  was 
that  they  would  give  me  a  man  to  take  charge 
of  the  work  and  develop  it.  A  grand  young 
man — Rev.  Richard  Bleeby — volunteered  to  go 
with  me,  and  remain  as  the  pastor,  in  case  I 
made  my  word  good  to  give  him  a  self-support- 
ing converted  people  to  provide  for  him,  other- 
wise he  would  return  with  me.  I  became  re- 
sponsible for  every  dollar  of  the  expense  in- 
volved in  the  experiment — experiment  as  it 
seemed  to  many,  but  with  me,  by  that  faith 
which  "  is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen,"  a 
certainty  of  success.  The  project  was  talked 
up,  and  the  young  ministers,  to  a  man,  were 
enthusiastically  in  favor  of  such  an  advance  of 
their  work.  The  plan  was  fully  matured  and 
ready  for  execution,  requiring  only  the  official 


Missionary  Methods  Illustrated.    399 

sanction  of  tlie  Cliairman  of  the  District.  He 
was  an  amiable,  pious  man ;  but  when  the 
proposition  was  submitted  to  him,  he  expressed 
great  surprise  at  our  presumption  and  folly  in 
even  proposing  to  found  a  mission  in  a  new 
country  without  the  initiative  order  from  the 
Committee  in  London.  He  could  not  entertain 
such  a  proposal  for  a  moment.  Thus  the  dear 
young  thing  was  strangled  to  death  in  the 
birth. 

Some  time  after  that  I  preached  a  few  times 
in  the  Island  of  St.  Thomas,  and  we  had  a 
great  awakening  among  the  people,  and  some 
leading  merchants  in  the  capital  and  principal 
town  begged  me  to  stop  and  found  a  mission 
there.  My  work  would  not  allow  me  to  settle 
down  in  that  city,  and,  having  no  man  to  appoint 
as  pastor,  I  had  to  decline.  Then  they  begged 
me  to  use  my  influence  with  the  Committee  in 
London  to  send  them  a  missionary,  and  they 
would  pledge  the  payment  of  $1,000  a  year 
for  his  support.  There  were  many  Wesleyans 
residing  in  that  city,  but  they  had  no  organiza- 
tion nor  minister.  I  wrote  the  Committee  in 
London,  laying  all  the  facts  before  them,  and 
so  the  hopeful  enterprise  had  a  decent  inter- 
ment. 


400  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

On  my  way  to  Brazil,  a  couple  of  years  ago, 
I  called  at  St.  Thomas.  As  soon  as  I  stepped 
ashore  the  first  man  I  met  exclaimed :  "  O, 
aint  this  Mr.  Taylor  ? " 

I  said,  "Yes." 

^^  Now  you  have  come  to  stop  with  us,  and 
preach  for  us." 

"  No,  I  have  to  proceed  in  this  steamer  to 
Brazil." 

I  walked  around  amid  the  tombs  of  sinners 
lost  forever  and  of  buried  possibilities  of  soul- 
saving  work  that  opened  up  so  manifestly 
during  my  former  visit.  Mr.  E.,  one  of  the 
merchants  so  anxious  for  the  establishment  of 
a  Wesleyan  mission,  though  not  professedly  a 
converted  man,  had  died,  and  many  more,  but 
no  Wesleyan  mission  established.  Others  less 
reliable  had,  meantime,  occupied  the  field. 

When  I  was  laboring  among  the  Kaffir 
nations  in  Africa,  my  royal  interpreter  became 
so  wonderfully  indued  "  with  power  from  on 
high,"  that  the  great  chiefs  sent  messengers 
after  me  hundreds  of  miles,  to  Natal,  praying 
that  I  would  send  "Pamla"  back  to  them. 
By  months  of  daily  work  with  Pamla,  and  the 
conversion  of  thousands  of  Kaffirs,  I  was  led 
fully  to  concur  with  his  expressed  convictions 


Missionary  Methods  Illustrated.    401 

that  God  wanted  him  to  go  through  those 
nations  as  a  founder  of  missions. 

I  therefore  addressed  a  petition  to  the  An- 
nual Meeting  of  the  Wesleyan  missionaries  of 
South  Africa,  stating  my  convictions  in  regard 
to  Pamla's  call,  and  begged  them  to  appoint  him 
regularly  with  Brother  Jenkins,  in  the  midst  of 
the  Kaffir  nations,  and  without  any  irregu- 
larity let  it  be  understood  between  him  and 
the  superintendent  that  he  shall  not  be  tied 
down  to  the  routine  of  pastoral  work,  which 
others  could  do  as  well,  but  have  his  time  for 
planting  new  missions,  while  they  should  pro- 
vide and  send  pastors  to  man  them ;  or  let  him 
stay  long  enough  in  a  new  field  to  develop 
the  work  and  its  indigenous  workers.  I  also 
offered  to  support  him  out  of  my  pocket  at 
least  for  one  year,  that  the  thing  might  be 
tested. 

I  received  a  very  coui-teous  reply,  saying 
that  nothing  of  the  kind  could  be  attempted 
without  the  consent  of  the  Committee  in  Lon- 
don. Pamla  is  doing  a  grand  work,  but  under 
disabling  restrictions  to  this  day. 

When  I  laid  the  foundation  of  our  mission 
in  Cawnpore,  India,  I  got  pledges  which  gave 
a  guarantee  of  support  for  a  missionary,  and, 


402  Selp^-Supporting  Missions. 

on  tlie  floor  of  the  India  Mission  Conference, 
pleaded  the  cause  of  Cawnpore  till  they  con- 
sented to  put  it  on  their  list  of  missions,  at  the 
risk  of  trouble  at  home  for  crossing  the 
Ganges  into  territory  from  which  the  covenants 
of  the  Missionary  Society  precluded  them. 
Then  it  required  a  year  of  negotiation  with 
the  Board  at  New  York  to  get  a  missionary  for 
Cawnpore.     I  remark  : 

2.  That  such  is  the  order  established  by  the 
Missionary  Societies,  that  when  God  founds  a 
mission  in  modern  times  on  his  original  plan, 
they  seem  to  regard  it  an  irregularity  that  must 
be  squelched  or  absorbed  by  their  organization 
and  reduced  to  order,  I  will  mention  but  a 
few  illustrative  examples : 

Nathaniel  Gilbert,  Esq.,  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Assembly  in  the  Island  of  Antigua, 
West  Indies,  accompanied  by  two  of  his  colored 
servants,  while  on  a  visit  to  England,  heard 
Mr.  Wesley  preach  the  Gospel.  Mr.  Gilbert 
and  his  two  servants  were  saved,  and  in- 
structed in  the  saving  doctrines  of  the  aj)ostle3 
through  the  agency  of  Mr.  Wesley.  On  Mr. 
Gilbert's  return  to  Antigua  he  preached  and 
his  servants  witnessed,  and  a  work  of  salvation 
among    the     people,    principally   the    colored 


Missionary  Methods  Illustrated.    403 

people,  of  that  island,  followed.  This  was  de- 
veloped and  extended  under  Mr.  Gilbert's 
ministry — not  officially — for  several  years  till 
he  died.  Then  Mrs.  Gilbert  superintended 
the  work  for  a  season,  when  she  returned  to 
England.  Then  two  colored  women  held 
meetings  nightly  among  the  societies  for  two 
years. 

Then  God  sent  them  a  missionary  from  En- 
gland in  the  following  order :  The  dock-yard 
at  Antigua  being  in  want  of  shipwrights,  an 
application  was  made  to  the  Government  at 
home  for  some  suitable  persons  to  be  sent  from 
England  to  supply  the  deficiencies.  Among 
the  persons  selected  for  this  purpose  was  Mr. 
John  Baxter,  of  the  Koyal  Dock  at  Chatham, 
who,  having  received  his  appointment,  repaired 
to  Antigua  without  delay.  Mr.  Baxter,  prior 
to  this  time,  had  been  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Society  about  twelve  years,  and  previous 
to  his  departure  had  been  a  class-leader  for 
some  considerable  time,  and  for  several  years 
as  a  local  preacher  he  had  called  sinners  to 
repentance. 

Mr.  Baxter  became  at  once  the  preacher  in 
charge  of  the  work  opened  under  the  ministry 
of  Mr.  Gilbert.   The  introduction  to  this  work  is 


404  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

described   in   a   letter   lie  wrote  Mr.  Wesley, 
which  reads  as  follows : 

On  Thursday,  April  2,  1778,  I  arrived  at  English 
Harbor.  On  Friday,  the  3d,  I  went  to  St.  John's,  and 
waited  on  Mr.  H.,  who  received  me  kindly.  The  next 
day  Mr.  II.  went  with  me  to  see  our  friends.  The  work 
that  God  began  by  Mr.  Gilbert  is  still  remaining.  The 
black  people  have  been  kept  together  by  two  black 
women,  who  have  continued  praying  and  meeting  with 
those  who  attended  every  night.  I  preached  to  about 
thirty  on  Saturday  night,  on  Sunday  morning  to  about 
the  same  number,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day 
to  about  four  or  five  hundred.  The  old  members  de- 
sire that  I  would  inform  you  that  you  have  many  chil- 
dren in  Antigua  whom  you  never  saw.  I  hope  we  shall 
have  an  interest  in  your  prayers,  and  that  our  Christian 
friends  will  pray  for  us.  Last  Saturday  I  again  visited 
St.  John's  and  preached  to  a  fashionable  company  of 
white  women,  while  the  back  room  was  full  of  blacks, 
who  are  athirst  for  the  Gospel.  On  the  following  day 
I  preached  to  a  large  concourse  of  people  that  filled 
both  the  house  and  the  yard. 

From  that  time  Mr.  Baxter  was  the  superin- 
tendent of  that  work  for  eight  years.  He  sup- 
ported himself  with  his  own  hands,  but  his 
people  built  a  substantial  church,  which  was 
opened  in  1783 — the  first  Methodist  chapel 
that  ever  appeared  in  the  torrid  zone. 

Dr.  Coke,  on  his  way  to  America  with  two 


Missionary  Methods  Illustrated.    405 

of  his  missionaries,  Messrs.  Clarke  and  Ham- 
mett,  was  driven  by  furious  gales  to  the  south- 
ward, and  landed  at  Antigua  Christmas  morn- 
ing, 1786.  Walking  up  the  street  in  St.  John's 
he  met  Mr.  Baxter,  with  hymn  book  and  Bible 
under  his  arm,  on  his  Avay  to  his  preaching  ap- 
pointment. The  meeting  was  one  of  mutual 
joy.  Dr.  Coke  preached  three  times  that  day 
and  administered  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  I  insert  a  copy  of  one  of  Dr.  Coke's 
first  letters  from  the  West  Indies,  describing 
this  work,  and  the  numerical  strength  of  the 
societies  under  Mr.  Baxter's  care. 

January  5,  1787. 

I  have  preached  in  this  town  twice  a  day.     The  house 

used  to  be  filled  in  the  evenings  about  an  hour  before 

the  time  of  preaching,  and  I  have  made  it  a  rule   to 

begin  about  half  an  hour  before  the  time.     Our  society 

in  this  island  is  nearly  two  thousand  ;  but  the  ladies 

and  gentlemen  of  the  town  have  so  filled  the  house  that 

the  poor  dear  negroes  who  built  it  have  been  almost 

entirely  shut  out  except  in  the  mornings,  and  yet  they 

bear  this,  not  only  with  patience,  but  with  joy.     Two 

or  three  times  I  have  preached  in  the  country.     Our 

friends    who    invite    us  to    their  houses   entertain   us 

rather  like  princes  than  subjects  ;  herein  perhaps  lies 

part  of  our  danger  in  this  country, 
26 


406  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Self  -  Supporting   Resources. 

Dr.  Coke  at  once  held  an  infant  conference. 
He  appointed  one  of  his  missionaries  to  assist 
Mr.  Baxter,  and  then  made  a  tour  through  most 
of  that  group  of  the  West  Indies,  piloted  by 
Mr.  Baxter.  At  Kingston,  St.  Vincent,  Dr.  Coke 
was  received  by  Mr.  Claxton,  whose  wife  was 
Mr.  Nathaniel  Gilbert's  adopted  daughter. 
Mr.  Claxton  fitted  up  a  large  warehouse  with 
seats  for  a  congregation,  and  Mr.  Clarke,  the 
other  missionary  of  Dr.  Coke,  was  stationed 
there. 

That  was  the  commencement  of  a  self-sup- 
porting mission,  which  gave  great  promise  of 
conquering  all  those  islands  for  Christ.  Dr. 
Coke's  missionaries  were  supported  by  their 
people,  but  his  arrangements  for  a  conference 
on  this  independent  base,  as  in  America,  were 
not  carried  out ;  but  the  societies  in  all  those 
islands  were  put  under  the  kind  fostering  care 
and  control  of  a  Missionary  Society,  and  they 
supplied  them  plentifully  with  missionaries  sent 
from  England,  and  sujDported  for  the  most  part 
by  the  funds  of  the  Society  whose  servants 
they  were. 

Eighty  years  after  Dr.  Coke's  arrival  in 
Antigua  I  made  an  evangelizing  tour  through 


Missionary  Methods  Illustrated.    407 

that  island,  and  found  an  aggregate  Methodist 
membership  on  the  whole  island  of  about  2,300, 
about  300  more  than  John  Baxter  had  eighty 
years  before. 

Before  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  had 
any  Missionary  Society,  God  founded  one  of  his 
original  sort  among  the  Wyandot  Indians.  He 
selected  as  his  missionary  a  mulatto  man  near 
Marietta,  Ohio,  named  Stuart,  and  called  him, 
as  he  called  Paul  at  Troas  to  go  to  Macedonia. 
"  In  a  vision  of  the  night "  an  Indian  man  and 
squaw  appeared  to  him  and  said,  "  Come  north 
and  teach  us  and  our  people." 

Stuart  considered  the  matter,  "  assuredly 
gathering  that  the  Lord  had  called  [him] 
for  to  preach  the  gospel  unto  them."  Acts 
xvi,  9,  10. 

He  was  called  to  be  a  pioneer,  and  had  noth- 
ing to  do  but  obey  the  call.  But,  instead  of 
obeying  God,  he  laid  the  case  before  his  min- 
ister and  the  brethren.  Of  course,  it  was  all 
out  of  order.  He  had  not  the  education,  nor 
gifts,  nor  authority  from  the  Church  for  any 
such  undertaking. 

Poor  Stuart  had  somewhat  of  the  feeling  of 
Jonah  when  he  took  ship  for  Tarshish.  He 
was    prostrated    by    dangerous    illness,    and 


408  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

brought  down  to  a  near  view  of  the  gates  of 
death,  and  the  terrors  of  hell  made  him  airaid. 
Then  he  "  cried  to  the  Lord  in  his  distress,"  and 
promised,  if  God  would  restore  him,  he  would 
confer  with  nobody,  but  go  and  do  the  work 
he  might  give  him  to  do.  At  once  he  began 
to  recover,  and  was  soon  restored  to  health.  He 
took  his  Bible  and  hymn  book,  and  a  little 
knapsack  of  provisions,  and  started  due  north, 
as  he  was  told  in  the  vision. 

He  traveled  through  the  wilderness  three 
days,  and  came  to  a  tribe  of  Indians  \^dio  were 
engaged  in  "  corn-shucking."  He  went  in  with 
them  and  helped  them  shuck  their  corn,  after 
which,  in  the  evening,  they  had  a  dance.  He 
sat  down,  and  they  formed  a  dancing  circle 
around  him,  and  amused  themselves  by  show- 
ing him  how  near  to  his  nose  they  could  cut 
the  air  with  their  tomahawks  without  cutting 
his  nose  off.  After  allowing  them  to  play  at 
that  game  a  while  he  took  out  his  hymn  book 
and  begaD  to  sing. 

They  squatted  and  listened  and  grunted  ap- 
plause till  he  was  through,  and  then  by  signs 
told  him  to  sing  again,  and  so  he  sang  on  by 
the  hour. 

He  supposed  they  were  the  people  to  whom 


Missionary  Methods  Illustrated.    409 

he  was  sent;  but  after  staying  witli  tliem 
three  days  the  impression  on  his  mind  was 
that  he  must  proceed  north.  So  they  filled  his 
knapsack  with  provisions  for  his  journey,  and 
he  bade  his  new  friends  good-bye,  and  walked 
on  through  the  wilderness  for  about  a  week, 
and  came  to  the  house  of  an  Indian  agent, 
Squire  Walker,  and  told  his  story. 

The  squire  thought  it  was  all  nonsense,  but 
told  him  of  a  colored  man,  by  the  name  of  Jon- 
athan, who  lived  a  few  miles  farther  north,  who 
had  spent  many  years  among  the  Wyandot  In- 
dians, and  could  speak  their  language  perfectly. 
So  Stuart  went  on  north  and  came  straight  to 
Jonathan's  house.  He  did  not  sit  down  first 
of  all  to  learn  the  language  of  the  Wyandots, 
but  went  to  work  on  his  sable  host  that  night. 
Jonathan  confessed  that  he  had  known  the 
Saviour  when  a  lad  in  Kentucky,  but  had  fallen 
away,  and  had  become  the  same  as  an  Indian. 

Next  day  Stuart  went  with  Jonathan  to  a 
"  corn-shucking,"  and  did  his  full  share  of  the 
work.  At  night  came  the  usual  dance,  but 
Stuart  took  out  his  hymn  book  and  began  to 
sing.  The  Indian  chiefs  and  warriors  at  once 
squatted  down  and  listened  and  grunted.  Aft- 
er a  few  hymns  Stuart  preached  to  them  in 


410  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

his  way — Jonathan  interpreting.  The  Indians 
were  very  attentive,  and  seemed  much  pleased. 
Then  he  made  an  appointment  to  preach  the 
next  day  at  Jonathan's  house,  and  thought  from 
the  interest  manifested  that  he  would  have  a 
crowd  of  chiefs  and  people. 

Long  before  the  hour  for  preaching  Stuart 
was  away  in  the  forest,  ("  the  closet "  of  our 
pioneer  preachers  in  the  West,)  and  was  praying 
for  power  to  instruct  the  red  men,  and  lead 
them  to  Jesus.  At  the  time  to  commence 
preaching  he  returned  to  the  house,  and  not  an 
Indian  was  to  be  seen  anywhere  round,  and  he 
felt  a  dreadful  chill  of  disappointment ;  but,  on 
entering  the  cabin,  there  sat  the  man  and  the 
squaw  whom  Stuart  recognized  at  a  glance  as 
the  persons  whom  he  had  seen  in  his  vision. 

He  preached  to  them,  and  gave  out  an  ap- 
pointment for  the  next  day,  and  they  brought 
two  more,  and  so  on  he  went  daily.  He  soon 
got  his  interpreter  converted,  and  then  the 
Spirit  of  God  poured  light  into  the  minds  of 
the  natives,  and  the  most  remarkable  work  of 
God  ensued  that  has  ever  been  recorded  in  the 
history  of  North  American  Indians.  J.  B.  Fin- 
ley's  "  History  of  the  Wyandot  Mission  "  is  one 
of  the  most  thrilling  narratives  of  its  kind  on 


Mission AKY  Methods  Illustrated.    411 

record.  Among  Stuart's  early  conveii:s  were 
the  great  chiefs  of  the  nation,  Mouoncue,  Grey 
Eyes,  Between-the-logs,  and  others,  who  became 
men  of  great  eloquence  and  power  in  the 
Church.  As  the  result  of  that  work  very 
many  of  the  Lord's  red  men  went  up  to  swell 
the  great  multitudes  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven. 
The  whole  nation  was  leavened  by  it;  but  the 
movement  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Society.  They,  with  the  Indian  nations 
generally,  who  own  so  much  grand  territory  of 
our  country,  and  ought  to  be  a  well-to-do  people, 
are,  in  the  main,  very  poor  and  dependent. 
With  many  individual  exceptions  they  have, 
by  lavish  appropriations  of  missionary  and  of 
government  money,  been  reduced  to  a  condi- 
tion but  little  above  beggary;  and  those  who 
work  and  make  money  don't  think  of  '^laying 
by  in  store  "  for  God's  work  "  as  the  Lord  hath 
prospered  them." 

The  superintendent  of  our  missions  in  Indian 
Territory  told  me  but  a  few  months  ago  that  he 
could  not  get  a  shilling  from  his  people  for  the 
support  of  the  Gospel. 

I  repeat,  our  Missionary  Societies  are  the 
grandest  benevolent  institutions  in  the  world, 
but  their  usefulness  depends  largely  on  their 


412  SELF-SiTppoRTiira  Missions. 

keeping  purely  within  their  appropriate  charity 
sphere  of  work.  When  they  indiscriminately 
absorb  the  churches  of  any  country,  as  in  the 
West  Indies  and  in  Nova  Scotia,  the  good 
done  to  real  objects  of  charity  is  more  than 
overbalanced  by  the  pauperizing  evil  to  those 
who  are  able  to  carry  the  whole  movement  to 
their  own  great  advantage.  And  to  give  a 
monopoly  of  the  business  of  founding  nearly 
all  the  new  churches  of  our  far  Western  States 
and  Territories  to  a  Missionary 'Society,  is  as 
great  a  mistake  as  to  put  the  railroad  system, 
and  all  its  immense  machinery,  with  all  mechan- 
ical and  mining  enterprises,  under  the  control  of 
a  charity  institution  in  New  York.  The  men 
who  display  such  immeasurable  energy  and 
genius,  and  accomplish  so  much  in  developing 
the  physical  resources  of  these  new  States  and 
Territories,  are  they  not  able  to  support  the 
Gospel  ? 

Why  don't  they  do  it  ?  They  are  the  sharp- 
est and  most  practical  men  in  the  world,  and 
diamonds  from  the  same  mine  are  the  only  sort 
that  will  cut  such  material.  A  gentleman 
from  the  East,  well  educated,  highly  refined, 
pious  and  eloquent,  sent  out  by  a  benevolent 
institution  with  an  appropriation  not  half  suffi- 


Missio:n^ary  Methods  Illustrated.    413 

cient  for  the  support  of  himself  and  family,  but 
quite  enough  to  prevent  him  from  getting  an 
adequate  allowance  from  the  people  he  has  come 
to  serve,  and  who  are  well  able  to  pay  for  serv- 
ice rendered  them ;  that  minister  will  be  treated 
like  a  gentleman  and  agent  of  an  honorable  and 
moneyed  institution:  but,  so  far  as  the  mass 
of  the  men  of  means  are  concerned,  he  Avill  not 
get  much  of  their  money,  and,  infinitely  worse 
still,  he  will  not  get  them.  He  will,  in  course 
of  years,  "  build  up  a  church,"  and  after  a  sad 
process  of  weaning  them,  in  which  the  old 
sheep  of  the  fold  will  do  most  of  the  bleating, 
their  church  will  become  self-supporting  and 
be  pronounced  a  grand  success  through  the 
wisdom  and  beneficence  of  the  Missionary 
Society. 

A  voice  from  the  other  side  says  :  "  I  would 
like  to  see  you  put  down  on  your  plan  in  one 
of  those  fields  to  which  we  appropriate  mis- 
sionary money." 

To  be  put  down  in  a  Church  fostered  for 
years  by  a  Missionary  Board  would  be  "  a  hard 
appointment"  for  me.  Whether  I  should  not 
close  up  the  concern  and  begin  anew,  would 
depend  on  local  circumstances ;  but  in  any 
case  I  should  certainly  strike  for  new  diggings, 


414  Self-Supportij^g  Missions. 

and  form  a  company  of  siich  as  can  dig  or 
drill  or  blast,  as  occasion  may  require.  I  would 
welcome  into  my  new  company  all  the  old 
hands  Avho  might  concur  in  the  change,  and  do 
the  w^ork  required. 

This  is  a  delicate  subject  on  which  I  say 
but  little,  but  one  about  which  I  feel  the 
gravest  concern,  for  it  involves  the  salvation 
or  otherwise  of  millions  of  souls,  and  the 
future  of  our  Churches  in  those  grand  coun- 
tries. It  is  not  money  that  is  needed,  but 
men.  I  mean  no  reflection  on  the  good  men 
in  the  field.  I  know  them  and  love  them. 
They  are  hard-working  men  and  making  head- 
way, but  working  under  great  disabilities,  just 
as  I  would  have  to  work  if  put  down  into 
such  fields  as  an  agent  of  a  charity  institution. 
Much  depends  on  beginning  on  a  right  basis, 
and  keeping  on  in  the  more  excellent  w^ay  from 
the  start. 

If  Methodism  in  America,  founded  in  God's 
irregular  way,  had  been  kept  in  the  trailing 
strings  of  the  good  men  sent  from  England,  it 
never  would  have  met  the  demands  of  its  great 
emergencies,  nor  would  it  have  mastered  the 
situation.  Its  English  pastors,  hearing  the 
thunder  of  the  coming  revolutionary  war,  has- 


Missionary  Methods  Illustrated.    415 

tened  back  to  their  native  place,  all  except 
Francis  Asbury,  who  became  a  thorough  live 
American.  The  abandonment  of  Methodism  to 
itself  and  to  the  God  of  providence  was  the 
real  beginning  of  its  healthy  development. 

As  soon  as  the  Gospel  was  fairly  planted  in 
Madagascar  by  the  heroic  missionaries  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  an  exterminating 
war  of  persecution  was  raised  against  their 
infant  churches.  The  missionaries  all  fled,  as 
Paul  often  did,  and  the  young  converts  were 
left  without  pastors  to  endure  the  fury  and 
force  of  a  heathen  government.  They  were 
arrested  wherever  found,  and  brought  to  trial, 
and  forced  to  renounce  the  new  religion  or  be 
cast  over  a  high  cliff  into  the  sea.  But  few  of 
them  hesitated  a  moment.  They  were  thrown 
over  into  the  sea  by  hundreds,  and  went  on 
dying  for  Jesus  till  they  brought  new  life  into 
their  nation.  The  peril  of  Christ's  cause  now 
in  Madagascar  is  its  po]3ularity  with  the  Gov- 
ernment and  the  patronage  it  brings.  The 
founding  of  that  mission  was  a  grand  achieve- 
ment of  the  London  Missionary  Society  on  the 
charity  principle,  and  worth  a  thousand  times 
more  than  ten  thousand  times  the  amount  of 
money  expended  on  it.     Their  loving,  fostering 


416  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

founders  out  of  the  way,  the  Holy  Spirit  led 
them  '^  through  the  floods  of  great  waters,"  and 
developed  them  into  a  Church  of  light  and 
might  that  "  revealed  the  glory  of  the  Lord." 

There  are  so  many  sides  to  this  subject,  and 
so  many  peculiar  cases  come  up,  that  the  wis- 
dom of  our  wisest  men  is  baflled ;  but  let  it  be 
"  legal "  and  in  ^^  order  "  for  the  Lord  to  work 
by  at  least  the  ttvo  plain  methods  he  has  insti- 
tuted and  honored  through  the  ages. 


A  New  Departure.  417 


XXII. 

A  NEW  DEPARTURE  TESTED  BEFORE 
TRUSTED. 

God  being  manifestly  the  Author  and 
Leader  of  this  self-supporting  caission,  I  well 
knew,  from  the  beginning,  that  it  would  be  op- 
posed by  carnal  minds,  and  sharply  criticised 
by  spiritually  minded  church  officials  who  are 
set  for  the  defense  of  the  truth  as  it  appears  to 
them.  I  am  not,  therefore,  either  surprised  or 
terrified  by  any  of  the  assaults  of  our  assailants. 

Rev.  George  Bowen,  Editor  of  the  "  Bombay 
Guardian,"  though  well  acquainted  with  things 
divine  and  human,  did  seem  astonished,  when 
he  penned  for  his  paper  the  following : 

There  has  never  been,  to  our  knowledge,  a  man  so 
abused  in  Bombay  as  this  evangelist  (William  Taylor) 
has  been.  All  sorts  of  calumnies  have  been  uttered 
against  a  man  who  came  to  this  country  at  his  own 
charge,  pays  all  his  own  expenses,  is  ready  to  share 
whatever  he  has  with  any  poor  man,  takes  nothing 
from  any:  a  man  devotedly  attached  to  his  family,  yet 
who  has  foregone  their  society  for  six  years  that  he 
may  proclaim  the  Gospel  of  God  to  these  people;  a 
man  w^hom   God  has   acknowledged    by    saving    and 


418  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

blessing  multitudes  through  his  ministry;  who  has 
borne  the  calumnies  and  insults  addressed  to  him  with 
the  meekness  that  becomes  his  mission — not  replying 
again.  And  when  a  sense  of  justice  leads  some  one 
else  to  point  out  the  wrongfulness  of  such  attacks,  im- 
mediately there  is  an  outcry  about  our  glorification  of 
Mr.  Taylor.  There  has  never  been  any  thing  of  the 
kind  on  our  part. 

If  Mr.  Taylor  had  been  solicitous  of  the  honor  that 
cometh  from  man  he  would  have  pursued  a  very  differ- 
ent course  from  that  which  he  has  followed.  In  fact, 
the  Lord  would  not  have  used  him.  Our  contempo- 
raries sometimes  favor  us  with  articles  explanatory  of 
what  they  call  the  failure  of  missions,  the  powerless- 
ness  of  the  pulpit,  etc. — referring  in  terms  by  no  means 
flattering  to  the  love  of  money,  comfort,  position,  in 
those  who  preach  the  Gospel.  From  the  strain  of  their 
remarks  one  would  infer  that  they  would  be  enraptured 
to  see  a  man  against  whom  no  trace  of  this  feeling  can 
be  alleged.  When  a  man  comes  who  in  all  particulars 
embodies  a  complete  disdain  of  these  things,  they  are 
more  bitter  against  him  than  ever  they  were  against 
any  other.     "  But  wisdom  is  justified  of  her  children." 

The  attacks  to  which  Brother  Bowen  refers 
did  not  come  from  the  Hindus  nor  from  the 
Mohammedans.  They  came  principally  first 
from  a  few  Protestant  missionaries  and  their 
friends ;  and  second  from  English  infidel  op- 
posers  of  all  missions  and  missionaries.  Their 
assaults  did  not  affect  my  feelings,  having  nei- 


A  New  Departure.  419 

ther  time  nor  inclination  to  read  them.  I  heard 
the  echoing  report  of  their  guns,  but  being 
quite  beyond  their  range,  never  felt  the  scratch 
of  a  bullet. 

I  had  a  most  bitter  assailant  in  New  Zealand, 
who  wrote  some  half  dozen  articles  in  a  daily 
paper  against  me  and  the  work  of  God  in  which 
I  was  engaged.  Judge  W.,  son  of  a  Governor 
in  India,  responded,  as  I  was  informed,  in  a 
masterly  manner.  A  bundle  of  the  papers 
containing  the  whole  controversy  was  kindly 
passed  into  my  hands,  and  without  opening  it 
I  put  it  among  a  collection  of  curiosities.  I 
thought  I  might  have  time  to  examine  it  in  old 
age  if  I  ever  should  retire  from  the  front. 

Some  years  after  I  left  New  Zealand  T  met  a 
friend  from  there,  who  well  knew  the  man 
who  had  so  maligned  me  in  the  papers,  and  he 
gave  me  the  sad  news  that  he  was  dead  ;  had 
died  as  he  lived,  but  in  a  tragic  way — "  cooked 
and  eaten  by  the  Moories,"  whose  cannibal  hun- 
ger for  human  flesh  had  been  revived  by  their 
war  with  the  English  soldiers. 

When  tidings  of  the  work  of  God  in  India 
in  connection  with  my  agency  reached  the 
"  ears  of  the  Church  "  in  America,  they  occa- 
sioned gratitude  to  God,  and  joyous  hope  in  the 


420  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

hearts  of  the  rank  and  file;  but  very  soon,  east 
and  west,  there  was  raised  a  cry  of  alarm  and 
opposition. 

In  one  article  of  assault,  the  author  drew 
from  his  argument  this  emphatic  conclusion  : 
It  is  a  sin  against  high  heaven  for  Taylor  to 
he  experimenting  in  a  foreign  mission  field!''' 

Another  tried  to  comfort  the  distressed  by 
assuring  the  Church  that  Taylor's  work  in  India 
was  an  entire  failure — a  little  stir  among  a  low 
class  of  Eurasians  of  no  standing  or  influence, 
and  that  the  "  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions 
of  the  native  population  belong  to  us/' 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  our  Church  in 
America  is  opposed  to  this  self-supporting 
mission  work  in  India.  In  the  last  seven  years 
at  home  I  have  had  good  opportunity  to  know 
the  sentiment  of  our  people,  and  have  not  a 
doubt  that  ninety -nine  out  of  every  hundred  of 
them  and  their  ministers  are  entirely  in  sym- 
pathy with  this  movement  and  rejoice  in  its 
success. 

The  opposition  here  is  not  from  the  outside 
world ;  nor  from  other  Churches ;  but  from  a 
very  few  returned  missionaries,  and  a  small 
number  of  our  own  church  officials.  It  does 
not  proceed   from  personal  envy,  nor    enmity, 


A  Xew  Departure.  421 

but  from  a  grave  apprehension  that  the  success 
of  self  supporting  missions  will  tend  to  close 
the  pockets  of  our  people  against  the  treasury  of 
our  organized  missionary  societies.  If  there  is 
a  possible  tendency  of  this  sort,  I  assume  that 
the  way  to  prevent  any  such  effects  is  to  impart 
to  our  people  a  clear  exhibit  of  all  the  facts  in 
the  case.  I  have  been  earnestly  engaged  in 
this  business,  east  and  west,  six  days  per  week, 
for  half  a  dozen  years  past ;  not  specially  ad- 
vocating my  self  supporting  missions,  but  set- 
ting forth  clearly  the  philosophy  and  the  facts 
of  the  whole  missionary  work  of  our  Church, 
and  of  all  Churches,  and  the  harmony  of  the 
diffei'ent  varieties  of  work,  and  the  different 
methods  used  for  its  accomplishment.  The 
tens  of  thousands  of  people  who  have  heard  my 
addresses,  from  our  Atlantic  border  to  British 
Columbia,  stand  ready  to  testify,  if  need  be, 
that  for  every  quarter  of  an  hour  I  gave  in  ex- 
planation of  the  peculiarities  of  my  own  work, 
I  gave  at  least  an  hour  in  advocacy  of  the 
claims  of  our  organized  missionary  societies. 
In  regard  to  the  money  scare,  I  assume : 
1.  That  any  stingy  man  who  would  witlibold 
his  donations  from  the  missionary  treasury  be- 
cause I  have  establisbed  some  missions  on  the 

27 


422  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

principle  of  self-support,  has  not  been  properly 
instructed  in  his  head  in  regard  to  missions,  or 
is  wanting  in  love  and  sympathy  in  his  heart 
for  the  perishing  heathen,  and,  unless  enlight- 
ened and  saved,  he  is  not  of  much  use  to  the 
Church  any  way.  Then,  if  such  should  with- 
draw their  patronage,  still  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety will  survive  and  prosper. 

2.  That  self-supporting  missions  root  down 
into  indigenous  resources  of  the  foreign  coun- 
tries in  which  they  are  planted,  and  don't  re- 
quire funds  from  home,  except  to  pay  the  out 
passage  of  our  missionaries,  and  to  assist  in  build- 
ing up  the  institutions  of  our  Church  in  foreign 
countries.  All  the  funds  that  may  be  given 
for  these  two  purposes  would  not  amount  to  a 
tithe  of  the  money  required  to  support  the 
missionaries.  So  that  the  only  way  in  which 
our  people  at  home  can,  to  any  appreciable  ex- 
tent, help  the  Lord  Jesus  to  save  the  heathen, 
is  by  their  prayers  and  the  money  they  put  into 
the  missionary  treasury.  If  they  don't  help  in 
this  way  they  cannot  help  much  in  any  way. 
Then  how  will  they  answer  to  the  Judge,  who 
commanded  them  to  go  in  person,  or  by  proxy, 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature  ? 

3.  Suppose  a  few  hundred   dollars  should, 


A  I^EW  Departure.  423 

unasked,  come  into  my  Transit  Fund,  that  might 
possibly  have  gone  into  the  treasury  of  a  mis- 
sionary society?  What  then?  It  is  not  so 
much  that  our  Church  gives  that  we  should  be 
frightened  with  the  fear  of  depletion. 

At  a  circuit  camp-meeting  in  Northern  Indi- 
ana I  once  heard  the  Presiding  Elder  make  a 
desperate  begging  appeal  on  Sabbath  forenoon 
to  raise  $250  of  a  circuit  deficiency,  and  he  re- 
ceived in  collection  and  pledges  about  $38.  He 
was  awfully  crest-fallen,  and  said ;  "  It  is  no  use 
to  try  this  again.  We  can't  get  blood  out  of  a 
turnip,  for  the  reason  that  there  is  none  in  it." 

He  aftei-ward  said  to  me  :  "  Brother  Taylor, 
you  can't  sell  any  books  to  these  people.  They 
have  had  drought  and  failure  of  crops,  and  are 
dead  broke." 

I  said  :  "  All  right,  brother.  My  mission  is 
to  preach  the  Gospel.  My  book  business  is 
secondary  and  incidental,  and  of  no  account 
compared  with  my  gospel  preaching." 

On  Monday  forenoon  I  made  a  little  speech, 
and  the  people  cleaned  out  a  box  of  my  books 
in  fifteen  minutes.  I  had  hard  work  to  find 
change  enough  to  break  the  five  and  ten  dollar 
bills  that  were  turned  OTit  of  the  wallets  of 
those  "  dead-broke  f  arn^iers." 


424  SELF-SuppoRTiis'a  Missions. 

Tlie  Presiding  Elder  opened  his  eyes  to  new 
possibilities.  "  W%,"  said  he,  ^'  I  am  astonished. 
These  people  have  plenty  of  money.  I  must  go 
at  them  again,  and  clear  off  this  circuit  debt." 
So  after  Tuesday  forenoon  preaching  he  made  a 
brief  statement  of  the  case,  and  I  added  a  few 
remarks,  and  in  about  twenty  minutes  the  same 
people  paid  the  last  dollar  required. 

Had  I  not  tapped  their  depleted  resources  a 
bit,  that  circuit  would  have  gone  on  groaning 
under  the  burden  of  its  debt  and  murmuring 
about  hard  times. 

In  a  neighboring  State,  another  Presiding 
Elder,  not  more  pious,  perhaps,  but  more  philo- 
sophic, said  to  me :  ^'  Brother  Taylor,  I  want 

you  to  attend  my  camp-meeting  at ,  and 

bring  a  good  supply  of  your  books.  The  people 
of  that  region  are  well-to-do  farmers,  but  they 
are  opposed  to  education,  and  have  no  taste  for 
reading.  I  have  tried  my  best,  but  can't  get 
them  to  subscribe  for  one  of  our  Church  peri- 
odicals, nor  to  buy  a  book,  so  that  their  igno- 
rance and  stinginess  beat  me  out.  They  are  a 
kind  people  in  their  way,  and  impressible  in 
their  emotional  religious  sensibilities,  and  if 
you  will  come  to  the  camp-meeting  you  can  get 
hold  of  them,  and  they  will  buy  your  books. 


A  New  Departure.  425 

and  the  books  will  act  as  an  entering  wedge  to 
the  introduction  of  our  catalogue  publications 
and  periodicals,  and  help  me  to  enlighten  and 
enlarge  the  minds  of  my  people." 

I  accepted  the  invitation,  preached  a  num- 
ber of  sermons  in  that  leafy  temple,  and  near 
the  close  of  the  camp-meeting  services  I  called 
the  attention  of  the  people  to  my  cause  and 
my  books.  In  a  few  minutes  the  Presiding 
Elder  sold  the  last  book  on  hand,  and  ran  into 
the  preachers'  tent  shouting  "  Hallelujah." 

I  assume,  furthermore,  that  God  is  doing  all 
he  can  through  our  Missionary  Societies,  and 
that  he  is  also  opening  and  developing  this 
work  of  self-support.  Now,  if  it  should  come 
to  pass  that  his  resources  for  the  sustentation 
of  the  two  kinds  of  work  are  inadequate,  and 
that  his  fields  for  their  operation  are  too 
limited,  I  shall  not  try  to  solve  the  problem, 
but  leave  its  adjustment  to  his  wisdom  and 
power,  and  abide  his  decision. 

But  some  of  my  official  brethren  cannot  see 
it  as  I  do.  I  am  not  surprised  at  that,  and 
certainly  have  no  complaints  against  them  for 
seeing  differently.  Others,  also,  feel  it  their 
duty  to  warn  the  world  against  the  perilous 
possibilities  of  self-supporting   missions.     The 


42  G  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

biggest  guns  that  liave  yet  opened  fire  against 
them  were  those  of  A.D.  1881. 

The^^'^"^  was  at  the  great  Ecumenical  Council 
in  London.  The  champion  selected  by  the  op- 
position was  a  celebrated  doctor  of  divinity  of 
the  Wesley  an  body.  His  long,  elaborate 
speech  is  in  the  book  containing  a  record  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  great  Council,  published 
by  the  Methodist  Book  Concern,  New  York. 

The  great  doctor  ran  a  parallel  between  the 
work,  respectively,  of  Dr.  William  Butler  and 
William  Taylor  in  India.  The  one  regularly 
appointed,  the  other  an  adventurer  on  his  own 
account ;  the  one  assigned  judiciously  to  a 
definite  field  of  labor,  the  other  went  wherever 
he  pleased  ;  the  one  founded  legitimate,  the 
other  illegitimate  missions ;  hence,  the  Churches 
growing  up  under  the  one,  regular,  the  Churches 
under  the  other,  irregular,  but  have  a  sort  of 
recognition  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  America.  The  doctor's  dignified  propriety 
would  not  allow  him  to  say  it  in  words,  but 
the  substance  was  that  the  South  India  Con- 
ference had  a  bastard  birth,  and  no  legitimate 
family  relationship  in  Methodism. 

According  to  the  record,  not  one  of  all  our 
heroic   host   of    representatives    of    American 


A  New  Departure.  427 

Methodism  who  listened  to  that  speech  took 
upon  him  to  say  to  that  little  Englishman 
that  William  Taylor's  Churches  in  India  have 
the  seal  of  God  upon  them.  ^' Being  born 
again,  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  incor- 
ruptible, by  the  word  of  God  which  liveth  and 
abideth  forever."  And  that  the  South  India 
Conference  was  duly  organized  under  a  regular 
charter  from  the  General  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  the  United 
States  of  America — the  only  Church  Mr.  Wes- 
ley ever  organized — and  that  the  said  South 
India  Conference,  therefore,  sustains  the  same 
legitimate,  royal  relationship  to  the  Church  as 
the  New  York  Conference,  or  any  other  in  the 
body,  and  that,  too,  on  its  o^^oi  independent 
base  of  material  resources,  without  the  spon- 
sorship or  pap  of  a  Missionary  Society. 

That  grand  man  of  God,  William  Arthur, 
followed  with  an  able  address,  not  ostensibly, 
but  really,  covering  all  the  points  made  against 
my  missions.  When  any  "Tertullus"  under- 
takes to  enlighten  the  public  on  the  irregular- 
ities and  impropneties  of  my  self-supporting 
missions,  as  in  the  past,  so  also  in  the  future, 
the  assailant  may  expect  to  be  confronted  by  a 
modest  statement  of  the  facts  in  the  case  by  a 


428  SELF-SuppoRTma  Missiotts. 

man  who  Jiajppens  to  be  there.  Even  in  this 
world-wide  representative  meeting  of  Method- 
ism, when  all  my  American  brethren,  through 
want  of  information  or  otherwise,  gave  quiet 
assent  to  the  impeachment  of  the  South  India 
Conference,  William  Arthur,  a  man  of  convic- 
tions and  courage  to  express  them,  knew  the 
facts  in  the  case.  He  is  my  friend,  and  his 
daughter,  the  wife  of  Anderson  Fowler,  of  New 
York,  is  the  Kecording  Secretary  of  the  Transit 
Fund  of  my  missioiis,  and  it  so  hajpjpened  that 
she,  accompanied  by  her  husband,  was  on  a 
visit  to  her  parental  home  at  that  very  time. 
It  so  happens. 

The  said  attacking  doctor  of  divinity  is  an 
old  friend  of  mine,  but  he  personally  knows 
nothing  about  my  w^ork  in  India.  He  simply 
proclaimed  from  "the  house-top"  what  "he 
heard  in  the  closet,"  from  designing  men  who 
lacked  his  courage  to  say  what  they  wanted 
to  be  said  on  that  great  occasion. 

The  next  demonstration  against  us  was  at 
the  meeting  of  our  Missionary  Committee  in 
New  York  last  November.  I  cannot  be  sus- 
pected of  "  telling  tales  out  of  school "  when  I 
simply  insert  what  was  published  to  the  world 
in  our  great  Church  official,  as  follows : 


A  New  Departure.  429 

South  India. — Amount  asked,  |500.  Bishop  Mer- 
rill and  Drs.  Crawford  and  Baldwin  spoke  of  the  posi- 
tion of  the  South  India  as  an  alleged  self-supporting 
Conference.  Dr.  Baldwin  especially  referred  to  the 
claim  that  the  South  India  was  a  model  for  our  mis- 
sionary work.  The  fact  is,  that  it  does  no  missionary 
work  among  the  heathen.  The  impression  that  it  does 
is  caused  by  virtual  misrepresentation.  Under  the  ad- 
ministration of  Brother  Taylor  unfit  men  had  been 
appointed,  and  the  Bishops  were  expected  to  shoulder 
the  responsibility. 

Bishop  Harris  thanked  Dr.  Baldwin  for  his  remarks. 
These  self-supporting  missionaries  absorb  our  collec- 
tions and  do  not  do  our  work.  Bishop  Merrill  con- 
firmed the  unfitness  of  some  of  Brother  Taylor's  ap- 
pointments, and  the  Churches  of  India  have  been 
pressed  to  pay  the  cost  of  their  passage  home.  The 
South  India  Conference  is  tired  of  being  called  Taylor's 
men,  and  having  preachers  sent  them  whom  they  would 
not  receive.  He  paid  tribute  to  Brother  Taylor's  per- 
sonal work,  and  to  the  character  of  the  members  of  the 
South  India  Conference.  Dr.  Brice  asked  for  informa- 
tion as  to  Brother  Taylor's  irregularity,  so  that  our 
people  may  know  how  to  act.  Bishop  Foss,  while 
paying  high  tribute  to  Brother  Taylor,  yet  spoke  as 
personally  acquainted  with  the  unfitness  of  many  of 
his  appointments.  Bishop  Hurst  defended  Brother 
Taylor,  and  said  he  was  doing  the  work  he  professed 
to  do,  and  by  that  he  must  be  judged.  His  mistakes 
in  making  appointments  were  no  greater  than  those 
made  at  home.  Dr.  Curry  said  William  Taylor  was  a 
peculiar  man.     But    he   was   a    sincere   man,    and   he 


430  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

wished  the  Church  had  twenty  such  to  found  self- 
supporting  Conferences  the  world  over.  Bishop  Wiley, 
while  appreciating  Brother  Taylor,  yet  deprecated  his 
course  as  detrimental  to  our  missionary  collections.  He 
was  conveying  wrong  impressions  as  to  the  needs  of  our 
missionary  work.  He  was  not  carrying  the  Gospel  to  the 
heathen  at  all,  but  to  the  English-speaking  inhabitants. 
This  our  people  should  distinctly  understand.  Bishop 
Foster  said  it  was  our  duty  to  administer  these  mis- 
sionary matters  according  to  the  rules  of  the  Society. 
William  Taylor  has  an  undoubted  call  which  God  has 
crowned  by  success.  Let  him  do  his  work  and  we  do 
ours. 

Dr.  Fowler  moved  to  amend  the  resolution  to  appro- 
priate $500  by  directing  the  secretary  to  announce  to 
the  brethren  of  the  South  India  Conference  that,  in 
paying  the  interest,  this  Society  does  not  admit  any 
responsibility  for  the  payment  of  the  debt  on  the 
church  at  Allahabad.  Bishop  Harris  urged  the  neces- 
sity for  this  action.  If  we  pay  the  interest  without 
some  such  protest,  it  will  be  claimed  that  we  have 
assumed  the  debt. 

There  was  much  discussion  as  to  the  position  of  this 
church  at  Allahabad.  Bishop  Merrill  explained  that  it 
was  a  private  enterprise,  and  we  have  not  contributed 
to  it,  and  do  not  own  it.  It  is  simply  held  for  wor- 
ship according  to  the  Discipline  and  rules  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Dr.  Buckley  considered 
that  there  was  no  reason  for  passing  this  amendment. 
Our  plan  with  India  ought  to  be  strong,  but  courteous. 
We  do  not  owe  the  debt,  and  any  assumption  that  we 
do,  or  insulting  letters,  may  be  left  to  the  Correspond- 


A  New  Departure.  431 

ing  Secretaries.  Bishop  Foss  agreed  with  Dr.  Buck- 
ley, and  moved  to  lay  the  amendment  on  the  table. 
This  was  lost,  12  to  18.  The  amendment  was  adopted, 
11  to  12,  and  the  full  amount  was  granted. 

The  dear  brethren  in  the  Committee,  like 
the  great  Sanhedi'in  that  arraigned  Paul,  were 
pretty  equally  divided. 

When  Dr.  Thoburn,  in  Calcutta,  read  in  our 
New  York  Advocate  these  strictures  of  the 
Missionary  Committee,  he  was  stirred  in  the 
interest  of  truth  and  justice  to  wTite  the  fol- 
lowing reply,  published  in  the  issue  of  March 
9,  1882: 

Mission  Work  in  the  South  India  Conference. 

At  the  recent  session  of  the  General  Missionary  Com- 
mittee in  New  York  an  unfortunate  discussion  of  the 
merits  of  the  work  in  the  South  India  Conference  took 
place,  in  the  course  of  which  the  somewhat  startling 
statement  was  made  that  this  Conference  '*  does  no 
missionary  work  among  the  heathen,"  and  that  "the 
impression  that  it  does  is  caused  by  virtual  misrepre- 
sentation." This  testimony  of  an  experienced  mission- 
ary who  had  visited  our  work,  supported  as  it  was  by 
two  Bishops,  one  of  whom  had  visited  India,  will  no 
doubt  attract  attention,  and  be  accepted  very  widely 
in  the  Church.  To  us  in  South  India  it  comes  with 
the  weight  of  a  serious  accusation.  As  a  Conference, 
we  have  repeatedly  affirmed  that  we  aim  at  the  conver- 
sion of  the  heathen,  and  we  have  steadily  kept  this 


432  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

object  in  view.  Whether  we  actually  do  any  thing  for 
them  or  not  can  only  be  determined  by  an  appeal  to 
facts,  and  this  appeal  I  most  respectfully  beg  to  submit : 

1.  We  have  two  preachers  who  cannot  preach  in 
English  at  all,  and  hence  they  cannot  be  included 
among  those  who  work  only  "  for  the  English-speaking 
inhabitants." 

2.  We  have  three  preachers  who  live  among  the 
heathen,  far  from  European  society,  and  it  is  certainly 
safe  to  assume  that  they  are  doing  something  for  the 
heathen. 

3.  We  have  two  others  who  have  been  assigned  to 
exclusively  vernacular  work,  and  who  do  nothing,  ex- 
cept in  an  incidental  way,  among  Europeans. 

4.  We  have  more  than  a  dozen  local  preachers  who 
do  regular  work  among  the  heathen,  preaching  in 
bazaars  and  other  public  places,  and  in  some  cases  exer- 
cising pastoral  care  over  small  bands  of  converts. 

6.  Wo  have  an  orphanage  among  the  heathen,  with 
some  sixty  or  seventy  children,  and  the  pastoral  over- 
sight of  another  orphanage,  with  more  than  three  hun- 
dred inmates. 

6.  We  have  not  less  than  1,000  native  Christians,  of 
all  ages,  connected  with  us,  while  the  proportion  of 
native  members  to  Europeans  steadily  increases. 

7.  We  are  indirectly — if  it  must  so  be  called — work- 
ing among  the  heathen  through  the  agency  of  our  En- 
glish-speaking members.  Every  evening  in  the  week 
Christian  ladies  may  be  found  in  a  public  square  in 
Calcutta,  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  heathen  people, 
helping  the  preachers  with  their  singing  and  prayers ; 
and    every   Sunday   afternoon   two   bands   of   refined 


A  New  Departure.  433 

Christian  ladies  may  be  found  in  the  streets,  one  work- 
ing among  the  grog-shops,  and  the  other  in  lanes  and 
streets,  where  three  fourths  of  those  who  gather  round 
them  are  heathen. 

8.  We  do  not  baptize  many  converts,  but  God  gives 
as  many  to  us  as  to  any  other  missionaries  in  the  city. 

Other  facts  might  be  adduced  in  defense  of  our  work, 
but  perhaps  the  above  will  suffice.  If  a  personal  re- 
mark may  be  pardoned,  I  would  refer  briefly  to  my 
own  connection  with  this  Conference.  For  nearly  fif- 
teen years  I  worked  in  connection  with  the  North  India 
Mission,  and  for  nearly  eight  years  I  have  been  in  the 
South  India  Conference.  In  crossing  the  Conference 
boundary  line  I  did  not  feel,  and  never  since  have  been 
able  to  feel,  that  I  ceased  in  the  smallest  degree  to  be 
a  missionary  to  the  heathen.  In  India  we  have  the 
heathen  all  around  us,  and  all  Christian  work  done  in 
India  is  work  done  for  the  heathen.  Then  as  to  direct 
work,  I  am  preaching  five  or  six  times  a  week  to  heathen 
audiences,  and  rarely  preach  to  any  audience  in  which 
no  heathen  are  found.  Brother  Bowen,  of  Bombay,  I 
believe,  preaches  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  times  a 
year  to  heathen  audiences,  and  we  have  other  preachers 
among  us  who  do  but  little  less.  There  are  probably 
fifty  sermons  or  exhortations  given  by  Methodist 
preachers  to  heathen  audiences  in  Calcutta  alone  every 
month,  except  during  the  rains.  And  yet  we  have  good 
and  wise  men  in  India  who  do  not  think  this  ought  to 
be  called  missionary  work.  I  have  often  been  ap- 
proached by  missionary  friends  who  say,  in  substance, 
"  You  are  doing  a  good  work,  no  doubt ;  but  I  cannot 
help  regretting  that  you  ever  gave  up  missionary  work." 


434  SELF-SuppoRTmG  Missions. 

I  seldom  defend  myself  against  such  an  impeachment. 
It  would  be  useless  to  attempt  it.  The  man  who 
cannot  see  any  real  missionary  work  in  what  we  are 
doing,  is  not  likely  to  change  his  mind  in  consequence 
of  any  possible  array  of  facts. 

One  thing  I  have  noted  with  interest  and  gratitude. 
The  missionaries  in  India  who  are  the  most  efficient 
workers,  and  who  are  the  most  fully  devoted  to  the 
great  work  of  saving  the  heathen,  are  those  who  have 
the  least  misgivings  about  the  future  of  the  South  India 
Conference.  The  dear  brethren  in  North  India,  among 
whom  I  used  to  labor,  have  as  warm  a  feeling  toward 
me  and  my  work  as  if  I  still  stood  in  their  ranks.  We 
are  one  still,  and  our  work  is  one.  There  is  no  antag- 
onism whatever  between  the  interests  of  the  two  Con- 
ferences, as  the  devil  very  well  knows,  and  hence  his 
persistent  efforts  to  create  one.  It  Avould  have  been 
very  easy  at  the  outset  to  have  stirred  up  a  most  un- 
natural spirit  of  rivalry  and  opposition  between  the  two 
Conferences  by  appealing  to  imaginary  dangers  and 
indulging  in  wrong  surmises  ;  but,  so  far  as  India  is 
concerned,  this  danger  has  been  happily  averted  thus 
far,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  our  friends  at  home  will 
not  allow  themselves  to  be  drawn  into  a  hostile  attitude 
toward  our  struggling  work  under  the  utterly  mistaken 
impression  that  they  will  thereby  help  the  Missionary 
Society.  We  are  very  indifferent  workers,  and  have  a 
record  of  which  very  few  of  us  feel  like  boasting,  but 
we  are  in  our  present  field  by  the  appointment  of  God 
and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  most  respect- 
fully protest  against  having  our  names  exj)unged  from 
the  missionary  roll  of  Methodism.      The  readiness  to 


A  New  Departure.  435 

distrust  us  in  some  quarters  is  really  amazing.  At  the 
great  Ecumenical  Conference  in  London  we  enjoyed 
the  painful  distinction  of  being  the  only  Methodists  in 
the  world  who  were  subjected  to  unfriendly  criticism, 
and  we  were  virtually  put  outside  the  common  pale  of 
universal  Methodism  without  a  word  of  protest  from 
any  quarter. 

Our  position  in  the  South  India  Conference  is  a 
delicate  one  ;  our  work  is  difficult,  and  our  future  by 
no  means  unclouded.  We  need  the  wisest  statesman- 
ship and  the  purest  devotion  which  the  Church  can  give 
us.  We  are  an  Annual  Conference,  and  the  Bishop  can 
transfer  men  to  us  at  any  time.  Father  Taylor  has  been 
severely  criticised  for  not  exercising  more  care  in  select- 
ing candidates  ;  but  there  is  always  this  to  be  said  for 
him,  that  he  did  something.  If  he  had  not  stirred  him- 
self, our  work  would  have  almost  certainly  broken 
down,  at  least  so  far  as  its  original  plan  was  concerned. 


436  SELF-SuppORTmo  Missions. 


XXIII. 

THE    "ALLEGED    SELF-SUPPORTING     CON- 
FERENCE." 

This  was  the  insinuation  thrust  against  the 
South  India  Conference  at  the  Missionary 
Committee  meeting  last  November.  Our  self- 
support  from  the  first  was  clearly  defined  to 
mean  the  support  of  all  our  ministers  and  teach- 
ers and  their  families  by  the  people  they  serve, 
with  other  indigenous  help  that  may  come  to 
them.  If  there  has  ever  been  a  violation  of  this 
principle  to  the  amount  of  a  dollar  I  have 
never  heard  of  it  from  any  body  who  is  ac- 
quainted with  our  work.  Transit  money  to 
pay  passage  and  outfit  of  our  out-going  mission- 
aries, and  assistance,  if  need  be,  to  help  build 
up  our  institutions,  are  the  exceptions  to  our 
self-supporting  rule,  as  stated  from  the  begin- 
ning. For  years  attempts  have  been  officially 
made  to  get  the  South  India  Conference  to 
ask  for  an  appropriation  from  the  Missionary 
Committee  to  help  weak  charges,  but  the  Con- 
ference has  up  to  this  hour  refused  to  entertain 
the  proposal.     There  are  two  cases  which  have 


"Self-Supporting  Conferei^ce."      437 

furnished  an  opportunity  to  some  brethren  who 
seem  to  desire  such  an  opportunity  to  criticise 
my  work  in  the  meetings  of  the  Missionary 
Committee.     One  was 

The  Allahabad  Debt. 

When  Allahabad  was  connected  with  the 
"  India  Mission  " — now  "  North  India  Confer- 
ence " — the  Presiding  Elder,  when  arranging  to 
buy  Church  property  in  that  city,  laid  the 
matter  before  the  Bishop  visiting  there  at  the 
time,  and  got  from  him  what  he  thought  was 
a  promise  that,  on  his  return  to  New  York,  he 
would  bring  the  matter  before  the  Mission- 
ary Committee,  and,  as  was  customary  in  that 
Conference,  get  an  appropriation.  He  was  so 
sure  that  the  Bishop  would  secure  the  money 
from  New  York,  that  he  went  and  borrowed 
the  amount  required  on  his  own  note,  and 
bought  the  property  for  the  Church — a  regular 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  If  Allahabad 
had  been  in  the  South  India  Conference  at  that 
time,  no  appropriation  would  have  been  asked 
for  nor  expected. 

The  charter  granted  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence, for  founding  the  South  India  Conference, 
placed  Allahabad  where,  geographically,  it  be- 

28 


438  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

longed,  in  the  Soutli  India  Conference,  and  it 
fell  into  the  Calcutta  District.  The  Presiding 
Elder  of  the  Calcutta  District  magnanimously 
relieved  the  Presiding  Elder  retiring,  by  cancel- 
ing his  note,  and  giving  his  own  note  for 
said  borrowed  money  for  the  Church.  The 
certainty  of  getting  the  money  from  New  York 
was  from  the  beginning  accepted  by  our  people 
in  Allahabad  as  a  fact,  that  it  had  been  given ; 
and  between  the  two  Elders,  as  I  understand 
it,  the  people  have  not  yet  been  informed  of 
the  facts  in  the  case,  first,  because  in  addition 
to  their  other  financial  burdens  they  are  not 
able  to  pay  it ;  and,  further,  the  Elders  did  not 
want  to  disturb  their  confidence  in  the  source 
whence,  as  they  suppose,  a  munificent  gift  came 
to  them.  It  was  not  introduced  into  the  Mis- 
sionary Rooms  by  the  Calcutta  Presiding  Elder. 
It  had  been  there  two  or  three  years  before  it 
was  entailed  on  us  by  the  transfer  of  Allahabad 
to  the  South  India  Conference,  but  for  which 
transfer  they  doubtless  would  have  paid  it  long 
ago.  The  Calcutta  Elder  took  it  up,  therefore, 
as  a  matter  of  record  with  our  missionary  sec- 
retaries, and  fully  explained  the  peculiarities 
of  the  case,  and  requested  that  they  lift  it 
off   his  heart,   as   he   was   not  able  to  pay  it, 


"Self-Supporting  Conference."      439 

and  could  look  to  no  one  in  India  to  help  him, 
as  they  already  had  as  much  as  they  could 
carry.  It  was  not  assumed  that  they  were  legal- 
ly bound,  but  that  it  would  be  a  generous 
thing  for  them  to  do,  under  the  circumstances. 
They  heard  him  kindly,  and  agreed  to  pay  the 
interest,  and  hoped  that  when  their  own  debt 
was  paid  they  might  pay  the  principal,  but  it 
was  not  a  positive  promise.  He  would  not 
have  it  as  a  missionary  appropriation  to  the 
South  India  Conference,  for  it  was  purely  local, 
and  had  nothing  to  do  with  ministerial  support, 
for  which  mainly  such  appropriations  are  made. 
The  Board  has  paid  the  interest  most  of  the 
years  since,  and  the  "  $500,  as  the  amount 
asked  for ^"^  by  South  India  Conference,  is  sim- 
ply the  annual  interest  that  they  have  been 
paying  for  years;  but  it  seemed  refreshing  to 
some  of  the  dear  brethren  to  have  a  blow  over 
it.  The  amount  of  the  debt  is  $5,000,  for 
which,  and  interest  at  the  rate  of  ten  per  cent, 
per  annum,  our  Calcutta  Presiding  Elder  is  per- 
sonally held.  Why  should  so  grand  a  man  of 
God  be  crushed  down  with  such  a  burden  ?  If 
I  had  the  money  I  would  send  him  a  telegram 
to-day,  and  order  the  debt  discharged.  Will 
not  my  friends  in  America  join  me  in  liberating 


440  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

our  noble  brother  in  Calcutta,  and  forever  keep 
out  of  the  precincts  of  the  Missionary  Commit- 
tee, except  to  give  them  money  as  we  may  be 
able.    The  other  was 

The  Ika  Macalister  Will  Case? 

I  never  went  into  the  details  of  it,  but  substan- 
tially it  was  this :  Some  years  before  I  went  to 
Bombay  a  good  New  England  Methodist,  as 
named  above,  on  preparing  to  go  to  heaven, 
where  all  good  Methodists  go,  ordered  in  his 
will  that  a  certain  amount,  I  believe  $5,000 
or  $6,000,  should  be  for  the  Methodist  Church 
in  Bombay.  Some  time  after  my  return  from 
India  to  America,  some  of  our  ministers  in 
Bombay  got  information  about  this  legacy,  and 
as  they  were  building  a  cburch  edifice,  and  in 
need  of  money,  thought  that  it  would  be  a 
good  thing  to  get  the  money  which  had  been 
bequeathed  to  Bombay.  They  took  it  for 
granted  that  a  New  England  man  would,  on 
paying  out  a  lump  of  $6,000,  see  where  he  was 
putting  it.  He  probably  knew  that  there  was 
no  Methodist  mission  in  Bombay  at  the  time ; 
but  knowins:  that  there  was  one  in  the  Prov- 
inces  of  Oudh  and  Eohilcund,  a  thousand  miles 
away,  he  could  see  no  better  way  of  getting 


''  Self-Supporting  Conference."      441 

one  planted  in  a  center  so  mucli  larger  than  by 
specifically  designating  Bombay  as  the  place 
where  he  wanted  to  apply  his  money.  So  our 
ministers  in  Bombay  thought  they  had  a  good 
case.  They  wrote  on  to  me  to  look  after  it, 
but  that  was  entirely  out  of  my  line ;  then  they 
otherwise  got  their  case  before  the  Missionary 
Board,  but  the  Board  would  not  concede  the 
claim  of  the  Bombay  Church.  They  were  quite 
willing  to  give  them  an  appropriation  if  they 
would  ask  it,  but  India  refused,  saying  if  they 
had  no  legal  claim  they  did  not  want  it ;  finally 
at  the  Committee  meeting,  in  November,  1880, 
they  voted  to  give  Bombay  $2,500  of  it. 
The  Missionary  Eeport  for  that  year  gives  the 
following  deliverance  concerning  the  South 
India  Conference,  with  mention  of  both  these 
cases  above  referred  to  : 

South  India  Conference  is  a  true  missionary  field. 
Those  who  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  people  there  have 
to  be  sent  to  them.  Once  in  the  field,  these  pastors 
are  supported  by  their  own  people.  Nothing  has  been 
paid  from  the  treasury  of  the  Missionary  Society  during 
the  past  year,  except  a  small  grant  to  relieve  the 
Church  at  Allahabad.  The  General  Committee,  which 
met  in  November  last,  also  appropriated  to  be  paid 
during  the  year  1881,  to  the  Church  in  Bombay,  the 
sum  of  $2,500.     This  case  was,  however,  peculiar  in 


442  Self-Supporting  Missioisrs. 

that  the  brethren  in  Bombay  conceived  that  they  had  a 
claim  to  it,  arising  from  a  clause  in  the  will  of  Ira 
Macalister. 

The  foundation  of  this  claim  was  not  at  all  apparent 
to  the  Missionary  Society  ;  but,  in  order  to  satisfy  these 
claims,  and  because  of  our  interest  in  the  noble  church 
erection  at  Bombay,  the  grant  was  cheerfully  made. 
This  amount,  with  the  grant  for  Allahabad,  makes 
$3,000  appropriated  to  South  India.  A  small  amount 
is  usually  appropriated  to  this  field,  not  only  to  meet 
some  possible  want  of  the  mission,  but  in  order  to 
keep  it  on  the  list  of  missions,  without  which  certain 
peculiar  privileges  granted  by  the  Discipline  to  foreign 
missions  could  not  be  applied  to  this  field,  and  the 
work  must  be  greatly  embarrassed  in  consequence. 

If  these  had  been  granted  as  regular  hona- 
fide  appropriations  for  church  building  in  those 
cities,  it  would  not  have  infringed  on  our  self- 
supporting  principle,  though  Ave  never  did,  and 
we  never  expect  to,  ask  the  Board  to  give  us  a 
cent  for  such  purpose,  except  in  these  two 
peculiar  cases. 

The  only  other  case  which  could  be  tortured 
into  a  constructive  charge  of  violating  our  self- 
supporting  principle  is  this.  The  South  India 
Conference,  with  238,000,000  of  heathens  and 
Mohammedans,  besides  supporting  all  their  own 
ministers,  and  their  churches,  parsonages,  etc., 


"  Self-Supporting  Conference."      443 

to  build,  are  assessed  for  a  contribution  for  tbe 
parent  society,  and  have  been  contributing  a 
small  sum  annually ;  but  I  tbink  for  a  year  or 
two  a  Presiding  Elder  arranged  with  the  home 
secretaries  to  appropriate  this  to  some  charity 
there,  not  for  ministerial  support,  and  that  may 
be  imputed  to  us  as  an  appropriation  to  South 
India.  Hence  the  sneering  prefix  "  alleged  self- 
supporting  conference." 

Our  people  of  the  South  India  Conference,  as 
seen  in  the  tables  I  have  inserted  in  this  book 
in  detail,  have  paid  during  the  year  1881,  for 
self-support,  $24,579,  and  for  building  and 
repairing  churches,  $13,861. 


ALTERNATION   BETWEEN   PRINCIPLES 
"ONE   AND    TWO." 

Let  the  order  of  God  in  the  apj^lication  of 
these  principles  be  maintained  all  the  way 
through,  Number  one  being  the  pioneer  of 
number  two.  If  number  two  is  not  possible 
in  its  immediate  application  to  a  field  possess- 
ing self-supporting  resources,  don't,  on  any 
account,  resort  to  principle  number  "three," 
but  fall  back  on  number  one.  Don't  be 
ashamed  to  build  tents,  or  do  any  honest  thing 


444  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

for  a  living,  till  you  tap  those  self-supporting 
resources,  or  let  God  select  some  man  or  wom- 
an who  can  do  it.  Who  opened  Mexico  to 
Protestant  missions  ?  The  Missionary  Societies 
stood  back  aghast  till  God  opened  the  gates 
by  the  agency  of  a  woman,  irregular,  of  coui'se, 
but  they  went  in  when  she  opened  the  way. 
I  will  give  an  illustration  of  my  point ;  On  a 
certain  circuit  in  Colorado,  receiving  a  mis- 
sionary appropriation,  the  people  got  discour- 
aged, and  told  the  Presiding  Elder  that  they 
could  not  support  a  preacher,  and  that  he  must 
not  send  one  to  that  circuit  the  ensuing  year. 
He  urged  them  to  go  on  and  do  the  best  they 
could,  but  they  were  so  set  in  their  purpose 
that  at  the  last  quarterly  meeting  just  before 
the  session  of  the  Annual  Conference,  there 
was  a  unanimous  vote  passed  requesting  the 
Elder  and  Bishop  not  to  appoint  a  preacher  to 
that  circuit  the  ensuing  year.  So  in  the  list 
of  appointments  for  that  year  that  circuit  was 
put  down  "to  be  supplied."  The  Presiding 
Elder,  however,  sent  my  friend,  C,  to  supply 
the  place  where  no  preacher  was  Avanted. 

Brother  C.  went,  and  called  on  all  the  Meth- 
odist families  in  the  principal  village  of  the 
circuit,  and  w^as  in  every  case  told,  "  We  don't 


Alternation  Between  Peinciples.     445 

want  you.  We  told  tlie  Presiding  Elder  not 
to  send  a  man,  and  we  can't  go  back  on  that." 

The  poor  fellow  put  in  a  day  trying  in  vain 
to  get  even  a  boarding  place ;  so,  late  in  the 
afternoon,  he  went  to  the  house  of  a  Methodist 
farmer  and  was  repulsed  in  the  same  way. 

Mr.  F.  said  to  him :  "  Mr.  C,  we  have  noth- 
ing against  you,  but  we  told  our  Elder  that  the 
circuit  could  not  support  a  preacher,  and  that 
he  should  not  send  us  one,  and  now  the  thing 
is  settled.  I  and  my  wife  are  going  to  join  the 
Church  in  Denver,  for  this  circuit  has  gone  up." 

"Well,"  replied  Brother  C,  "I  am  tired,  and 
it  is  getting  late.  Will  you  allow  me  to  stop 
over  night  with  you  ?  " 

"No,  Mr.  C,  we  have  not  a  spare  bed  in  the 
house." 

"  Will  you  let  me  sleep  on  the  hay  in  your 
barn  ? " 

"  O  yes,  if  you  are  so  badly  off  as  that,  you 
can  sleep  on  the  hay,  if  you  vnsh." 

Then  the  t^vo  walked  together  to  the  barn, 
and  Brother  C.  said  to  Mr.  F. :  "You  and 
your  wife  are  going  to  join  in  Denver,  eh  ? " 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  when  you  and  your  wife  are  away  in 
the   city,  seven  miles  from  home,  what  is  to 


440  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

become  of  your  boys  running  at  large  every 
Sunday,  with  no  parental  oversight  or  re- 
straint ? " 

"Well,  Mr.  C,  I  liad  not  thought  of  that  ? " 

"You  may  see  that  it  is  a  very  serious 
thing,  which  demands  your  prayerful  attention." 
So  they  talked  till  the  supper-bell  rang,  and 
Mr.  F.  said ;  "  Mr.  C,  you  had  better  come 
and  get  some  supper." 

"If  you  please,  sir,  I  will  be  much  obliged 
for  a  supper,  for  I  have  had  no  dinner." 

After  supper  Brother  C.  rose  to  retire  to  his 
lodgings  in  the  barn,  when  Mr.  F.  said  :  "  Mr. 
C,  one  of  my  sons  has  gone  to  spend  the  night 
vnth  a  neighbor,  and  you  can  occupy  his  bed 
if  you  like." 

"  All  right,  brother,  I  will  accept  your  kind- 
ness and  thank  you." 

Next  morning  Brother  C.  was  invited  to  stay 
for  breakfast,  and  heard  Mr.  F.  lamenting  that 
he  could  not  find  a  man  in  that  country  who 
knew  how  to  rick  w^heat  and  hay,  saying,  "  I  am 
just  read}^  to  haul  in  my  crop.  I  don't  know 
how  to  rick,  and  I  don't  know  what  to  do." 

"What  do  you  propose  to  give  a  man  per 
day  for  that  kind  of  work  ?  " 

"  I'll  pay  two  dollars  and  a  quarter." 


Alternation  Between  PErN-ciPLES.     447 

"  Very  well,"  said  Brotlier  C,  "  I'll  take  tliat 
job." 

"  What,  can  you  rick  wheat  and  hay  ? " 

"  Yes,  sir.  I  was  brought  up  to  do  all  such 
work  as  that.  I  shall  want  some  poles  and 
rails  for  a  foundation  first,  and  then  you  may 
put  on  all  your  teams  and  tumble  in  the  wheat 
as  fast  as  you  can.     I'll  take  care  of  it." 

So  Brother  C.  could  not  get  into  that  circuit 
on  principle  No.  2,  and  fell  back  on  principle 
No.  1.  Before  the  week  was  out  many  Method- 
ists asked  him  to  let  them  make  an  appoint- 
ment for  him  to  preach  the  ensuing  Sabbath. 

He  said :  "  No,  I  am  hard  at  work  here  all 
the  week,  and  need  the  Sabbath  for  rest." 

The  next  week  they  renewed  their  request. 
He  put  them  off  from  time  to  time  till  he  had 
ricked  all  Mr.  F.'s  large  crop  of  wheat  and 
hay.  Then  he  yielded  to  their  importunity. 
The  house  was  crowded  at  his  first  appointment 
and  every  subsequent  one. 

During  the  year  about  eighty  persons  pro- 
fessed to  find  salvation  under  his  ministry,  and 
though  a  single  man,  requiring  but  little  to 
keep  him,  they  paid  him  a  salary  of  eleven 
hundred  dollars,  and  gave  him  a  good  horse 
and  buggy  besides. 


448  Self-Supporti2^g  Missions, 


XXIV. 

CONCLUSIONS  AND    SUGGESTIONS. 

Is  it  not  a  fact  clearly  established  tliat  God 
has  self-supporting  principles  and  methods,  for 
sending  and  sustaining  his  ministers,  and  that 
he  has  a  self-supjDorting  gospel  work  in  the 
world  ? 

Is  it  not  a  fact  that  most  of  the  self-support- 
ing Churches  in  our  own  and  other  countries 
became  such  from  the  beginning  without  inter- 
mediate aid  or  agency  from  any  Missionary 
Society  ? 

If  this  is  God's  order  in  one  country,  why 
should  it  not  be  lawful,  at  least,  to  allow  this 
same  order  of  God  to  be  introduced  and  tried 
in  any  or  all  countries  ? 

"Is  it  not  lawful?" 

I  supposed  it  was  when  I  commenced  to  try 
God's  order  in  India;  but  soon,  as  we  have 
seen,  it  was  announced  in  a  regular  Church 
23aper  at  home,  that  "  it  was  a  sin  against  high 
heaven  for  Taylor  to  be  experimenting  in  a 
foreign-mission  field." 

I  paid  no  attention  to  that,  for  I  thought  it 


COTTCLUSIONS    AND    SuGGESTIOTTS.  449 

was  simply  tlie  writer's  opinion.  Then  it  was 
reiterated  along  tlie  lines,  "  that  Brother  Taylor 
is  out  of  order ; "  but  I  could  not  see  the  point. 

I  knew  that  I  was  at  work  in  God's  order, 
and  there  by  his  appointment,  and,  therefore, 
took  it  for  granted  that  I  was  in  harmony  with 
his  laws  throughout  the  universe ;  hence,  pro- 
ceeded in  my  w^ork  as  led  by  the  Spirit. 

The  expansive  force  of  our  self-supporting 
principles  has  not  been  fairly  tested  yet.  The 
Lord,  by  ways  that  I  need  not  state,  has  kept 
me  back,  having  kept  me  at  the  front  but  three 
years  in  India,  and  six  months  in  South  Amer- 
ica, out  of  the  ten  years  of  my  self-supporting 
missions. 

It  seems  that  God  plants  missions  as  he  does 
trees.  He  don't  want  them  to  grow  too  fast, 
nor  in  a  hot-house,  but  let  them  develop  under 
all  the  changes  of  the  seasons,  and  amid  the 
fury  of  the  storms. 

The  yearnings  of  a  pioneer  founder  of 
Churches  for  his  persecuted  spiritual  children 
are  thus  described  by  Paul  in  his  first  epistle 
to  the  Church  in  Thessalonica,  1  Thess.  ii,  7,  8 : 
"  We  were  gentle  in  the  midst  of  you,  as  when 
a  nurse  cherisheth  her  own  children ;  even  so, 
being  affectionately  desirous  of  you,  we  w^ere 


450  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

well  pleased  to  impart  not  the  Gospel  of  God 
only,  but  also  our  own  selves,  because  ye  were 
become  very  dear  to  us."     (New  revision.) 

"Whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth." 
The  presence  of  a  mother's  sympathy  when 
the  father  is  chastising  the  children  mars  the 
disciplinary  effect.  So  when  an  infant  Church 
was  planted  under  Paul's  agency,  and  so  far 
developed  in  holiness  as  to  "  endure  hardness," 
and  be  tested  under  the  "  tribulum,"  to  prevent 
its  looking  to  Paul  more  than  to  God,  he  was 
suddenly  taken  out  of  the  way.  He  spent 
about  three  years  in  chains  as  a  prisoner  at  a 
time  when  he  thought  he  was  most  needed  to 
extend  the  work  into  Spain  and  Britain. 

There  is  a  weakness  in  human  nature  strongly 
inclined  to  what  Mr.  Wesley  designated  "  soft- 
ness and  needless  self-indulgence."  That  is 
much  more  dangerous  to  spiritual  health  and 
effectiveness  than  the  hardness  of  God's  whole- 
some discipline.  If  Hannibal's  soldiers,  toned 
up  by  the  hardness  they  endured  in  the  Alps, 
had  been  led  directly  to  the  gates  of  Rome, 
they  would  have  conquered  the  Romans,  but, 
after  a  few  months  of  "softness  and  needless 
self-indulgence"  at  Capua  the  Romans  con- 
quered them. 


CoNCLUsioj^-s  a:[^d  Suggestions.        451 

As  Paul  was  separated,  in  God's  order,  from  his 
infant  Churclies  wlien  he  so  yearned  to  be  with 
them,  so  I  was  separated  from  mine  in  India; 
but  the  Lord,  instead  of  sending  me  to  jail,  as 
he  did  Paul,  has,  for  more  than  half  a  dozen 
years,  had  me  preaching  at  large  to  help  our  dear 
people  in  their  home  work,  and  to  root  down 
the  principles  of  Self-supporting  Missions  into 
the  confidence  and  conscience  of  the  Church  at 
home  so  as  to  prevent  schism,  as  an  issue  of  the 
war  against  this  self-supporting  movement. 

The  rank  and  file  of  Methodist  preachers  and 
their  people  will  stand  for  God  and  his  work 
every  time,  but  they  had  to  learn  his  method 
of  founding  Self-supporting  Missions,  and  their 
harmony,  in  his  design,  with  our  organized  mis- 
sionary societies ;  hence  the  necessity  of  a 
representative  of  the  self-supporting  principles 
and  plan  in  their  midst. 

But,  after  all,  is  there  any  such  war  in  ex- 
istence ? 

I  have  no  personal  war  against  any  body, 
and  am  not  aware  that  any  body  has  against 
me.  This  is  not  a  war  of  persons,  but  of  prin- 
ciples. The  question  in  dispute  is  on  the  pos- 
sibility and  legality  of  founding  Self-supporting 
Missions  in   foreign  countries   outside   of   the 


452  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

jurisdiction  of  missionary  societies.  Tlie  key  to 
the  controversy  was  expressed  at  tlie  meeting 
of  the  Mission  Committee,  last  November, 
by  utterances  like  this :  ''  Appreciating  Brother 
Taylor,  but  deprecating  his  course  as  detri- 
mental to  our  missionary  collections." 

It  appears  that  this  apprehension  of  rivalry 
in  foreign  mission  fields  and  competition  in  re- 
gard to  home  resources,  has  been  like  Edgar 
Allan  Poe's  "Kaven"  at  the  door  of  our  mis- 
sionary councils  ever  since  the  commencement 
of  my  organization  in  India. 

Hence  it  became  an  apparent  necessity  and 
duty  to  extinguish  the  self-supporting  spirit 
and  principles  of  my  missions.  The  thing  had 
to  be  done  very  quietly  to  avoid  a  public 
demonstration.  The  measures  em23loyed  may 
be  indicated  by  the  statement  of  a  few  facts, 
some  of  which  I  have  noticed  before : 

1.  The  first  was  to  "  jump  my  claim  "  in  Bom- 
bay at  the  beginning;  hence  an  appropriation 
of  $20,000  to  send  men  and  plant  a  new  mis- 
sion in  that  city.     That  failed. 

2.  To  send  out  a  superintendent  to  super- 
sede me  and  take  my  work  over  and  put  it 
directly  under  the  control  of  our  Missionary  So- 
ciety.    That  failed  also. 


Conclusions  and  Suggestions.        453 

3.  To  get  my  consent  to  be  officially  ap- 
pointed as  superintendent,  under  a  declared 
concurrence  in  our  principles  of  self-support, 
and  a  promise  of  non-interference,  sincerely,  I 
doubt  not,  but,  as  it  turns  out,  there  was  a 
misunderstanding  as  to  how  far  my  self-sup- 
porting principles  should  apply  in  this  organic 
relationship. 

I  understood  that  our  agreement  certainly 
meant  self-support  and  direct  loyal  relationship 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  under  its 
episcopal  government  and  control,  without  any 
sponsorship  or  control  of  the  Missionary  Society 
whatsoever. 

It  seems  that  the  Bishop  understood  it  to 
mean  self-support  and  episcopal  supervision 
under  the  legal  control  of  the  Missionary  Com- 
mittee. So  I  am  just  beginning  to  wake  up  to 
what  is  now  claimed  to  be  the  fact  in  the  case, 
that  long  ago  the  General  Conference  delegated 
the  whole  of  her  administrative  responsibility 
of  sending  the  Gospel  to  foreign  countries  to 
their  Missionary  Committee ;  hence  their  rep- 
resentative, who  took  me  and  my  India  mission 
in,  had  really  no  authority  to  concede  any  thing 
to  the  peculiar  requirements  of  my  self-support- 
ing principle  or  plan. 

29 


454  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Hence  I  was  really  violating  tlie  laws  of  the 
Churcli,  for  I  was  getting  people  converted  to 
God,  and  founding  Methodist  Churches  away 
there  in  India  without  an  order  from  the  Mis- 
sionary Committee. 

But  believing  me  to  be  "  a  sincere  man,"  and 
that  the  work  in  which  I  was  engaged  was  a 
genuine  work  of  God,  they  passed  over  my  un- 
intentional irregularities,  and  appointed  me 
superintendent  of  the  work  God  had  given  me. 
Then  the  coast  seemed  all  clear  for  the  admin- 
istration, and  every  thing  went  on  quietly  for 
a  season. 

When  the  General  Conference  granted  a 
charter  for  the  organization  of  my  India 
Churches  into  a  regular  Annual — not  a  "  Mis- 
sion " — Conference,  I  accepted  that  action  as  a 
confirmation  of  the  legality  of  my  principles  of 
Self-supporting  Missions.  But  it  seems,  after 
all,  that  I  was  mistaken ;  for  when,  under  a 
conscious  call  from  God,  I  went  and  laid  the 
foundations  of  Self-supporting  Missions  in 
South  America,  I  was  pronounced  out  of  order 
again. 

Then  followed  more  manifest  determination 
to  strip  my  work  of  its  missionary  character — 
^'  no  missionary  work  at  all " — and  buy  up,  or  in 


CONOLUSIOJ^S    AND    SuGGESTIOT^S.  455 

some  way  put  an  extinguislier  on  our  princi- 
ples and  professions  of  self-support :  hence  the 
repeated  efforts  to  persuade  the  South  India 
Conference  to  receive  missionary  appropriations 
from  New  York.  It  is  the  most  unnatural 
thing  in  the  world  to  refuse  the  offer  of  gifts — 
especially  coming  in  sincere  affection  from  an 
honorable  source,  as  in  this  case.  Here  is  the 
sublime  spectacle  of  a  conference  of  men,  de- 
pending on  very  slender  financial  resources, 
(not  amounting  to  a  tithe  of  the  wealth  of  our 
people  in  our  Western  States  and  Territories, 
where  large  sums  of  missionary  money  are 
annually  expended,)  living  on  a  line  of  rigid 
economy,  ten  of  whom,  with  their  families, 
without  a  cent  of  foreign  aid,  having  passed 
through  the  Madras  famine,  in  which  half  a 
million  of  people  starved  to  death — one  of  them 
imprisoned  for  preaching  the  Gospel  in  the 
streets  of  Bangalore,  consented  to  give  up  his 
household  effects  to  pay  an  unrighteous  fine 
laid  upon  him  for  so  doing — such  a  body  of 
men  respectfully  refusing  year  by  year  to  ask 
or  receive  a  dime  from  any  foreign  source  for 
the  relief  of  themselves  or  their  families,  pre- 
ferring to  depend  on  the  people  they  serve, 
who  cheerfully  support  them,  according  to  the 


456  Self-Supporting  Missioits. 

law  of  Moses  and  of  Paul,  that  "  the  laborer  is 
•worthy  of  his  hire."  Preachers  so  peculiar  and 
so  set  in  their  principles  of  Self-supporting  Mis- 
sions— according  to  the  "  course  "  so  deprecated 
as  "  injurious  to  the  missionary  collections  " — 
must  be  brought  under  subjection  to  the  Mis- 
sionary Committee. 

If  the  Missionary  Board  is  so  anxious  to 
help  our  brethren  in  India,  why  not  pay  that 
Allahabad  Church  debt  of  $5,000?  That 
would  be  a  real  act  of  kindness  and  would  not 
in  the  least  affect  our  self-supporting  princi- 
ples. Nay,  they  want  to  put  "  a  hay-stack " 
right  in  the  midst  of  my  missions.  It  is  very 
kind  in  them,  but  my  hardy  independent  fel- 
lows prefer  the  indigenous  grasses  of  the 
countr}^  in  which  they  live  and  labor. 

In  the  month  of  May,  1881,  a  decree  was 
passed  by  the  Board  of  Bishops  requiring  me 
to  send  in  the  papers  of  my  Missionary  candi- 
dates to  be  examined  and  approved  by  the 
secretaries,  thus  giving  them  the  power  to 
delay,  or  limit,  or  reject  my  selection  of  mis- 
sionaries for  my  work. 

Later  in  the  same  year  came  the  attacks 
upon  my  Self-supporting  Missions,  and  my 
<< irregular  administration"  at  the  Ecumenical 


CoNCLUSIOiS^S    AND    SUGGESTIONS.  457 

Council.  See  the  combined  official  forces  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  concerting 
with  the  allied  representatives  of  all  the 
Methodist  organizations  in  the  world  to  stig- 
matize and  crush  one  poor  Methodist  preacher 
because  he  dared  to  obey  God  and  found  a 
Conference  in  a  heathen  country,  without  per- 
mission from  the  Missionary  Committee  in 
New  York.  Then  at  the  meeting  of  our  Mis- 
sionary Committee  last  November,  finding,  after 
all,  that  I  was  not  dead,  several  of  our  Bishops 
and  a  few  other  doctors  of  divinity  made  a 
rush  to  finish  me  as  the  representative  of  Self- 
supporting  Missions. 

The  next  thing  in  order  w^as  to  make  an 
inventory  and  prepare  to  administer  on  my 
effects ;  hence,  the  action  at  this  same  meeting 
of  the  Missionary  Committee,  to  establish 
said  new  missions  in  South  America. 

I  have  a  band  of  heroic  workers  on  the  west 
coast  of  South  America.  Thirteen  of  them,  as 
we  have  seen,  lost  their  fields  in  Peru  and 
Bolivia  by  the  war.  All  who  did  not  die,  or 
return  home  invalided,  went  to  Chile,  and 
entered  self-supporting  fields  of  work ;  so  that 
all  our  forces  on  the  west  coast  are  concentrated 
in  Chile.     For  their  mutual  edification  and  the 


458  Self-Suppokting  Missions. 

unification  of  their  work  they  organized  them- 
selves into  what  they  called  "  The  South  Amer- 
ican Evangelical  Association."  It  was  a  con- 
ception of  their  own,  the  embryo  of  a  regular 
annual  conference,  but  up  to  this  time,  though 
they  have  had  conversions  in  all  their  stations, 
and  have  organized  "fellowship  bands,"  they 
have  not  seen  their  way  to  organize  Methodist 
Churches. 

The  long-talked-of  episcopal  visit  to  that 
coast  to  ordain  my  pioneer  men  came  off  last 
November.  I  said  to  the  Bishop  before  start- 
ing, that,  as  they  had  not  yet  organized  Method- 
ism in  Chile,  he  could  not  go  on  the  official 
assumption  that  they  were  Methodist  missions, 
but  simply  a  friendly  visit  and  preach,  and  do 
all  the  good  possible,  and  quietly  ordain  the 
men.  He  cheerfully  concurred  in  all  that,  and, 
no  doubt,  did  as  he  agreed. 

But  he  said  to  me  :  "  The  brethren  there  are 
in  an  anomalous  position.  They  are  fine  young 
men,  and  are  eligible  to  admission  into  the 
Annual  Conferences  at  home,  in  which  they  are 
now  simply  probationers,  but  they  have  no  one 
legally  authorized  to  represent  them  in  those 
Conferences,  so  that  they  can  be  admitted.  The 
mission  ought  to  have  a  superintendent."     He 


Conclusions  and  Suggestions.        459 

tlien  proposed  to  appoint  me  as  superintendent. 
I  respectfully  declined.  I  knew  that  I  would 
be  staked  down  in  that  field,  and  that  the 
radius  of  my  missionary  operations  would  be 
limited  by  the  length  of  the  lasso  tied  round 
my  neck  by  an  episcopal  agent  of  the  Mission- 
ary Board ;  whereas,  God  had  given  me  a  com- 
mission outside  of  their  jurisdiction,  as  wide  as 
the  world. 

I  said,  in  reply,  "When  we  can,  by  the 
will  of  God,  organize  Methodist  Churches  in 
Chile,  and  develop  them  to  proportions  requir- 
ing a  superintendent  and  adequate  means  for 
his  support,  then  one  from  their  number  can  be 
so  appointed,  and  I  shall  be  glad."  I  further 
stated  that  I  expected,  "  when  my  pioneers  in 
all  my  fields  shall  have  secured  the  requisite 
footing,  to  go  through  their  work  as  an 
evangelist,  and  help  them  to  gather  the  fruits 
of  their  seed-sowing,  as  I  did  for  the  Wes- 
leyan  Methodists  in  Africa,  Ceylon,  and  in 
other  lands." 

Well,  the  dear  Bishop,  in  a  hasty  tour  round 
to  Argentina,  stopped  off  in  Chile  and  or- 
dained my  men.  Probably  he  did  not  assume 
that  they  were  Methodist  missions,  but  would, 
of  course,  express  his  mind  to  the  young  men, 


460  Self-Suppokting  Missions. 

as  lie  did  to  me,  about  tlieir  "  anomalous  rela- 
tion to  the  Churcli,"  hence  the  necessity  of  a 
regular  superintendent  to  represent  them,  so 
that  they  could  attain  a  conference  standing  at 
home.  All  this  was  but  the  utterance  of  an 
honest  conviction  of  duty  on  the  line  of  epis- 
copal administration.  My  people,  isolated  and 
lonesome,  were  delighted  with  the  Bishop  and 
his  wise  counsels. 

Now,  what  follows  ?  No  annual  meeting,  as 
before,  of  their  Association. 

One  of  my  leading  men  writes  me,  saying : 
"  We  need  a  man  here  with  authority  to  com- 
mand, to  preside  over  us,  to  unify  our  work, 
and  keep  every  thing  straight." 

The  first  utterance  of  the  kind  that  ever 
came  to  my  ears  since  it  began.  Letters  from 
different  brethren  there  show  dissatisfaction 
about  their  anomalous  relations  to  the  Church. 

Later  a  letter  was  handed  me  by  a  sister  in 
New  York,  just  received  from  one  of  my  work- 
ers in  our  Santiago  College,  with  the  request  to 
pass  to  me  in  haste.  My  noble  woman,  in  her 
letter,  states  how  their  happy  circle  w^ere  sur- 
prised and  shocked  by  a  letter  they  had  just 

received  from ,  one  of  my  pioneer  men, 

saying  that  he  was  tired  of  Taylor's  rnission,  and 


Conclusions  and  Suggestions.        461 

tliat  lie  had  written  to  the  Missionary  Board 
in  New  York,  that  unless  they  take  this  work 
into  their  hands,  he  wished  them  to  recall  him. 
He  stated,  further,  that  in  his  application  to 
the  Board  he  had  represented  Santiago  also, 
(hence,  probably,  all  my  stations  in  Chile.) 

The  writer  disclaims  for  Santiago  any  thing 
in  regard  to  it,  but  surprise  and  disgust  in 
being  misrepresented,  and  goes  on  to  say : 

If  it  had  been  Brother  J.,  who  has  been  sick  and  has 
really  had  a  hard  time,  it  would  not  have  been  so  sur- 
prising, but  I  received  a  letter  from  him  by  the  same 
mail.  He  is  still  quite  unwell,  and  his  wife  is  ill ;  but 
he  is  full  of  the  Spirit,  and  is  determined  to  stand  at 
his  post  till  Mr.  Taylor  can  send  him  needful  helpers  : 
but  this  complaining  brother  has  the  least  ground 
of  complaint  of  any  one  in  our  mission.  Brother  H., 
one  of  Mr.  Taylor's  men,  spent  three  years  in  opening 
the  circuit  this  brother  now  occupies.  It  is  a  very 
healthy  place,  and  its  mountains,  valleys,  and  sea  views 
are  beautiful.  He  has  large  congregations,  prayer- 
meetings  and  Sunday-school.  He  gets  his  house  rent 
free,  and  receives  a  cash  salary  of  eighteen  hundred 
dollars. 

I  have  simply  given  the  substance  of  a  long 
letter.  That  dear  brother  can't  stand  Taylor's 
Self-supporting  Missions  any  longer,  and  must 
have  a  change. 


462  SELF-SuppoRTiNa  Missions. 

So  far  as  South  America  is  concerned,  unless 
the  Lord  in  mercy  shall  interpose,  this  dreadful 
haste  of  the  Missionary  Board  to  get  the  eggs 
will  kill  the  golden  goose. 

They  ran'  their  mission  for  English  people 
in  Buenos  A}nres  for  thirty-one  years  before 
they  commenced  a  mission  for  the  natives,  and 
they  think  I  am  too  slow  altogether,  when 
I  have  not  yet  had  four  years  for  all  the 
work  I  have  initiated  in  South  America. 

I  don't  criticise  their  motives ;  they  sincerely 
"  deprecate  my  course,"  viewed  from  their  ad- 
ministrative stand-point,  and  I  sincerely  depre- 
cate theirs;  but  it  is  well  known  now  that 
they  are  simply  discharging  their  obligations 
to  the  high  trusts  the  Church  has  put  into 
their  hands,  and  in  this  "  course "  of  adminis- 
trative duty  they  have  been  quietly  check- 
mating me  for  ten  years,  and  now,  in  their  last 
two  moves,  they  have  got  me  cornered. 

1.  The  recent  action  of  the  Board  of  Bishops, 
virtually  placing  me  and  my  new  recruits 
under  the  control  of  the  secretaries,  so  that  I 
am  forced,  first,  to  submit  to  the  control  of  the 
Board,  the  thing,  for  reasons  given,  I  conscien- 
tiously refused  to  do  from  the  beginning ;  or, 
second,  disobey  the  express  order  of  the  Board 


Conclusions  and  Suggestions.        463 

of  Bishops  applied  to  me  by  name  ;  or,  third, 
fail  henceforth  to  get  ordination  for  my  mis- 
sionaries. I  have  had  three  ordained  since  that 
decree  went  forth — two  immediately  after  it 
passed,  before  it  was  announced  to  me,  and 
one  since,  under  circumstances  that  made  it  an 
exceptional  case. 

2.  The  action  of  the  Missionary  Committee, 
by  which  they  '^ established"  their  new  mis- 
sions in  Central  and  South  America.  That 
corners  me  in  this  dilemma.  In  South  Amer- 
ica, the  same  as  in  India,  I  have  always  gone, 
of  course,  in  my  true  character  as  a  Methodist 
minister,  but  not  officially  as  a  representative 
of  any  Church,  and  upon  my  own  personal 
responsibility,  as  led  by  the  Spirit,  founded 
Self-supporting  Missions  for  God,  never  to 
come  under  the  control  of  any  Missionary 
Society;  and  as  for  possible  future  Church 
organic  results,  that  was  to  be  left  purely 
to  the  choice  of  our  newly-converted  people 
themselves.  As  I  have  said  before,  I  would 
do  this  work  and  leave  all  the  fruits  of  it 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  if  the  Lord 
should  so  order.  This  broad  catholicity  of 
spirit  that  God  gave  me  long  ago  is  mistaken 
by  many  of  my  friends  for  a  kind  of  Jesuitism. 


464  Selb^-Suppohting  Missio:n-s. 

Some  of  tlie  Protestant  missionaries  in  Brazil 
declare  that  against  me ;  but  I  declare  tliat  it 
is  not  so.  I  am,  from  the  clearest  convictions, 
a  Methodist,  but  I  am  for  helping  the  Lord 
Jesus  to  get  the  world  saved,  without  putting 
sectarian  obstructions  in  the  way.  Then,  when 
they  are  saved,  they  can  calmly  and  intelli- 
gently decide  upon  their  church  relationships. 
That  is  precisely  the  way  in  which  the  Meth- 
odism was  made  which  now  constitutes  the 
South  India  Conference. 

Now  review  the  action  of  the  Missionary 
Committee  in  contrast  with  the  facts  in  the 
case,  and  any  one  may  see  how  it  involves  me. 
I  never  was  consulted  in  regard  to  this  nominal 
establishment  of  missions  in  South  America. 
I  believe  in  creating  missions  in  foreign  lands 
by  the  power  of  God,  but  do  not  believe  in  a 
fictitious  creation  of  foreign  missions  in  New 
York  by  the  policy  of  men. 

I  asked  a  New  York  merchant  and  a  mem- 
ber of  our  Missionary  Committee  if  that 
action  of  the  Committee  of  founding  so  many 
missions  in  South  America  in  one  day,  at  the 
nominal  cost  of  $200  each,  would  pass  in 
the  Board  of  Trade. 

"No,"    said    he    emphatically.       "  No,    the 


Conclusions  and  Suggestions.        465 

author  of  such  a  thing  would  be  expelled  from 
the  floor." 

Of  course,  the  members  of  the  Committee 
are,  like  this  merchant,  honorable  Christian 
gentlemen;  but  their  attention  is  taken  up 
with  the  onerous  practical  duties  before  them^ 
and  resolutions  like  those  of  administrative 
policy,  prepared  beforehand,  pertaining  to  re- 
mote countries,  why,  they  are  submitted  and 
passed  unanimously,  like  a  budget  of  resolu- 
tions of  thanks  at  the  close  of  a  Conference  to 
the  railroad  companies,  the  citizens,  and  every 
body  whose  generosity  merited  the  thanks  of 
the  Conference.  It  is  not  at  all  likely  that 
the  real  authors  of  those  South  American 
resolutions  considered  the  moral  phase  of  such 
action,  or  its  practical  bearings  on  my  work. 
The  ostensible  purpose  was  to  help  my  work, 
and  thus  make  it  lawful  for  a  Bishop  to  go  and 
ordain  my  men,  and,  of  course,  explain  to  them 
"  their  anomalous  relation  to  the  Church." 

Now,  any  one  who  will  consider  these  facts, 
can  see  the  dilemma  in  which  I  am  ''  cornered." 
As  I  have  shown,  if  I  should  concur  in  the 
action  of  the  Committee,  my  South  American 
patrons  would  brand  me  as  a  hypocrite  whose 
meanness  is  excelled  only  by  his  stupidity,  to 


466  Self-supporting  Missio:n"s. 

take  them  in  under  false  pretenses,  and  go 
right  back  to  New  York  and  sell  tliem  publicly 
to  a  Missionary  Committee. 

On  the  other  hand,  \^'hen  I  shall  confront 
such  charges  by  the  facts  of  my  non-concur- 
rence, and  my  emphatic  protest  against  the 
whole  proceeding,  then  they  will  say,  "Ah, 
you  have  a  divided  house  at  home.  We 
have  enough  of  strife  and  division  here  now, 
so  you  can  go  home  and  look  after  your  Mis- 
sionary Committee." 

So  that  nothing  short  of  a  miracle  of  Divine 
Providence  can  save  my  missions  in  South 
America  from  utter  defeat.  No  difficulty 
about  adequate  self-supporting  resources,  and 
about  our  success,  but  for  this  flank  movement 
of  our  friends.  I  have  cried  over  this  thing 
till,  like  a  child,  I  have  laid  the  ^vhole  thing 
with  myself  on  the  bosom  of  Jesus,  my  Jesus, 
and  there  I  rest ;  but  while  I  tnist  in  God,  I 
must  also  "  keep  my  powder  dry." 

So,  in  India,  the  last  Bishop  presiding 
urged  the  Conference  to  ask  for  a  missionary 
appropriation.  This  sort  of  thing  repeated 
year  by  year  in  such  sympathy  and  kindness, 
with  the  increase  of  married  men  in  the  Con- 
ference, and  of  church  debts,  and  the  desire  to 


Conclusions  and  Suggestions.        467 

send  out  jpaid  native  preachers,  when  other 
missions  are  offering  a  premium  for  our  unpaid 
native  preachers,  it  would  be  quite  natural  for 
the  Conference  to  give  way,  and  ask  for  an 
appropriation  from  the  Board.  Then  the 
hitherto  all-conquering  spirit  of  self-support 
with  the  self-respect  and  independence  belong- 
ing to  it,  which  has  enabled  our  people  to 
make  such  a  success  in  the  past  ten  years, 
would  be  conquered.  Then,  soon,  instead  of 
a  host  of  heroes,  we  would  have  a  horde  of 
beggars  vying  with  each  other  for  the  biggest 
appropriations  from  New  York. 

The  Missionary  Society  has  no  money  to 
give  them ;  they  can't  support  their  own  mis- 
sions and  keep  out  of  debt,  but  they  are 
anxious  to  give  my  people  enough  to  stop 
their  mouths  and  silence  their  talk  about  Self- 
supporting  Missions.  Demoralization  and  de- 
feat would  follow,  and  would  be  laid  to  the 
charge  of  "  so-called  Self-supporting  Missions."' 
I  am  laying  those  grand  heroic  men  and 
women  on  the  bosom  of  Jesus  every  day,  and 
have  no  more  doubt  of  their  success  in  self- 
support  and  in  soul-saving,  than  I  have  of  the 
sun  rising  to-morrow,  if  they  stand  to  their 
principles  and  be  true  to  God  and  old-fashioned 


468  Self-Supportiis^g  Missions. 

Methodism.  I'll  trust  them,  and  in  God's  time 
I  will  give  them  the  best  work  of  my  life  in 
personal  evangelizing  in  their  midst. 

^^OuR  Missions  m  South  America."" 

Under  this  heading  I  see  in  the  "  Christian 
Advocate"  of  May  18th  our  secretaries  make 
this  showing : 

The  name  of  our  well-known  South  America  mis- 
sion, whose  field  of  operation  has  been  the  river  Platte 
and  its  tributaries,  was,  at  the  last  meeting  of  the 
General  Committee,  changed  to  South-east  South 
America  Mission  ;  and  two  other  missions  in  South 
America,  namely,  the  North-east  South  America,  whose 
field  is  the  Amazon  region  and  adjacent  coasts,  and 
the  West  South  America,  embracing  the  west  coast 
of  the  continent,  were  put  on  the  list  of  the  missions  of 
our  Society.  The  Central  America  Mission  was  also 
added. 

They  then  proceed  with  an  elaborate  and  in- 
teresting historical  sketch  of  the  population 
and  resources  of  the  countries  covered  by  their 
new  missions. 

That  makes  a  good  showing  on  paper,  and 
Math  $200  appropriated  for  each  of  these  new 
missions  "  established  by  the  Committee,"  they 
ought  to  make  an  impression  on  those  dark 
places  of  the  earth. 


Conclusions  and  Suggestions.        469 

Well,  in  the  "Advocate"  of  May  25tli  they 
report  progress  as  follows : 

South  America  Missions. 

[From  our  Mission  Eooms.] 
We  give  here  the  names  and  stations  of  the  mission- 
aries in  these  missions : 

SOUTH-EAST  SOUTH  AMERICA. 

The  preachers  mentioned  here  will  include  both 
missionaries  and  native  preachers.  At  Montevideo,  the 
Rev.  T.  B.  Wood,  (Superintendent,)  the  Rev.  Willian 
Tallon,  Miss  C.  Guelfi,  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society.  Montevideo  Circuit,  the  Rev.  T.  B. 
Wood  and  the  Rev.  A.  Guelfi.  Uruguay  Circuit,  the 
Rev.  J.  Correa.  Buenos  Ayres,  the  Rev.  J.  F.  Thom- 
son. Rosario  and  Parana  Circuit,  the  Rev.  J.  R. 
Wood.  Rosario,  Mrs.  E.  J.  M.  Clemens  and  Miss  J. 
Goodenough,  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety. 

Andrew  M.  Milne,  Agent  of  the  American  Bible 
Society,  is  doing  much  evangelistic  work,  traveling  far 
and  near.  His  post-office  address  is  Montevideo. 
George  Viney  is  a  local  preacher  acting  as  supply  at 
Rosario,  and  Francisco  Pensoti  on  a  Montevideo  sub- 
circuit. 

CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

This  mission  should  not  be  forgotten  here.  The 
Rev.  John  E.  Wright  is  laboring  at  San  Jose,  in  Costa 

Rica. 

WEST  SOUTH  AMERICA. 

At  Aspinwall,  the  Rev.  E.  L.  Latham.     At  Panama, 

the  Rev.  Richard  Copp.     In  Chili  the  following  :  At 
80 


470  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Copiapo,  the  Rev.  Lucius  C.  Smith,  wife,  and  sister  ; 
the  Rev.  J.  P.  Gilliland  and  wife.  At  Coquimbo,  the 
Rev.  J.  W.  Collyer  and  wife.  Miss  Rachel  Holding. 
At  Valparaiso,  the  Rev.  Oscar  Krouser  and  wife.  At 
Santiago,  the  Rev.  I.  H.  La  Fetra,  the  Rev.  William 
A.  Wright  and  wife,  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Shively,  Professor 
M.  Lemon,  Professor  Farwell — all  engaged  in  teaching 
in  the  male  department  of  the  college.  In  the  female 
department  are  Miss  Whitefield,  (Preceptress,)  Miss 
Kipp,  Miss  Kinsman,  Miss  Holding,  Miss  Ogden.  The 
number  of  pupils  is  over  100.  At  Concepcion,  where 
is  also  a  college,  the  Rev.  A.  T.  Jeffreys  and  wife,  the 
Rev.  George  M.  Jeffreys,  Miss  Spink,  (Preceptress,) 
Miss  Boyce,  Miss  Elkins. 

NORTH-EAST  SOUTH  AMERICA. 
The  following  are  in  Brazil.  At  Para,  the  Rev. 
Justus  H.  Nelson  and  wife.  Prof.  J.  W.  Nelson  and 
wife.  Miss  Blunt — all  teaching  in  a  college.  At  Per- 
nambuco.  Professor  W.  T.  Robinson  and  wife.  Pro- 
fessor Marten  and  wife,  Professor  George  B.  Nind. 
[The  state  of  his  health  has  compelled  the  return  of 
Dr.  Beattie.]  This  mission  effort  in  Brazil  begins  with 
the  native  work  in  Portuguese.  The  sentiments  of  the 
Liberal  party  among  the  people  offer  some  opening. 
Stipulation  is  made  that  the  Bible  shall  be  used  in  the 
schools.  All  the  pupils  are  natives  and  Roman  Catho- 
lic in  form. 

How  strange  all  this  must  appear  to  the 
patrons  of  my  Self-supporting  Missions,  both 
in  this  and  in  foreign  countries  ! 


Conclusions  and  Suggestions.        471 

In  commencing  to  found  a  mission,  I  always 
open  witli  statements  like  this:  "I  am  not 
here  as  the  representative  of  any  Missionary 
Society.  Missionary  Societies  are  grand  benev- 
olent institutions.  You  are  not  objects  of 
charity ;  you  are  men  of  means  and  independ- 
ence, and  able  to  pay  for  whatever  you  see 
proper  to  invest  in,  and  I  am  here  to  talk 
business  with  business  men,"  etc. 

They  enter  into  written  engagements  with 
me  to  receive  and  support  the  people  I  shall 
send  them  with  the  distinct  understanding, 
that  no  Missionary  Society  shall  have  any 
thing  to  do  with  it. 

So  at  this  end  of  the  line  the  people  who 
give  their  money  to  provide  passage,  outfit  for 
our  missionaries,  and  furniture  for  our  schools, 
don't  give  that  money  for  general  missionary 
purposes,  but  specially  to  found  and  supply 
my  Self-supporting  Missions. 

Now,  after  all  this,  they  see  it  published  to 
the  world  that  the  missions  they  have  thus 
founded  in  South  America  are  the  property  of 
the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church. 

They  inquire,  "  How  under  the  heavens  did 
that  society  get  the  title  to  our  property  ?  " 


472  SELF-SuppoRTma  Missions. 

The  answer  is,  "  By  the  action  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Committee  last  November." 

Then  they  want  to  know:  "What  is  our 
man,  Taylor,  about,  that  he  allows  our  money 
and  the  missions  we  are  helping  him  to  found 
to  be  gobbled  up  in  this  way  ? " 

"Well,  gentlemen,  I  have  been  jBghting  this 
battle  alone  for  ten  years,  and  now,  having  fur- 
nished the  facts,  I  will  allow  you  to  enlist  in  the 
war ;  but  it  must  not  be  waged  against  persons, 
but  be  purely  a  defensive  war  of  principles. 
Our  motto  is,  Friendship  to  all  Churches,  Ko- 
man  Catholic  and  Protestant,  and  to  all  mis- 
sionary societies,  and  enmity  to  none;  but 
we  demand  the  right,  and  will  contend  for  it 
by  all  lawful  means,  and  to  the  end,  to  plant 
the  Gospel  and  its  educational  institutions 
among  the  self-supporting  classes  of  all  na- 
tions, as  the  Lord  shall  lead  us ;  and  shall  not 
allow  any  Missionary  Society,  nor  the  Church 
officials  of  any  name  whatsoever,  to  have  any 
control,  nor  nominally  record  any  claim,  to  our 
Self-supporting  Missions,  only  as  the  people — 
not  the  preachers  nor  a  clique — but  the  people 
we  thus  succeed  in  saving,  shall  of  their  own 
accord  elect." 

This  excepts  the   South   India  Conference, 


Conclusions  and  Suggestions.        473 

but  includes  all  my  missions  in  Central  and 
South  America,  and  all  future  missions  the 
Lord  may  enable  us  to  open. 

We  want  it  distinctly  understood  henceforth, 
that  every  missionary  we  may  send  out  must 
know  our  principles  and  subscribe  to  them, 
and,  having  thus  been  sent,  he  shall  have  no 
more  right  to  enter  into  negotiation  with  any 
Missionary  Society,  or  Church,  for  the  trans- 
fer of  his  mission  to  said  Missionary  Society, 
or  Church,  than  an  employe  has  to  purloin 
the  property  of  his  employer.  We  send  no 
slaves;  our  missionaries  are  the  Lord's  freemen 
and  women,  and  whether  in  the  school-room  or 
the  bazaars,  are  Christ's  embassadors. 

They  must,  therefore,  count  the  cost,  and  go 
to  those  fields  of  their  own  free-will.  When 
there  they  must  have  all  their  moral  freedom 
at  command,  and  if  they  find  that  they  are  not 
in  their  right  place,  give  us  notice,  and  we  will 
relieve  them  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  let 
them  go  with  our  blessing  and  best  wishes; 
but  they  must  keep  their  hands  off  our  mission 
property,  and  must  not  tamper  with  the  loyalty 
of  our  people. 

We  further  give  notice,  that  w^hile  any  Mis- 
sionary Society  is  free  to  found  missions  in  any 


474  Self-Suppoeting  Missions. 

country,  no  Missionary  Society,  nor  Churcli,  has 
any  more  right  to  set  up  a  claim  to  our  Self- 
supporting  Missions  in  any  field  whatsoever, 
than  one  man  has  a  right  to  set  up  a  claim  to 
the  farm  of  his  neighbor,  who  does  not  owe 
him  a  cent,  and  publish  it  in  the  papers  as  part 
and  parcel  of  his  own  estates.  His  assertions  to 
the  man  he  has  wronged  and  distressed,  that 
his  action  is  only  nominal,  and  that  it  does  not 
mean  forcible  possession,  don't  meet  the  case. 

Being  greatly  over-worked,  I  was  attacked 
in  the  winter  of  1881  with  a  combination  of 
asthma  and  bronchitis,  and  coughed  and 
wheezed  incessantly  for  fifteen  months.  I  con- 
tinued to  preach  six  days  per  week,  but  with 
it  combined  a  tour  of  health  to  the  Pacific 
coast  as  far  as  British  Columbia.  I  have  but 
recently  returned,  after  about  a  year's  absence, 
not  being  able  in  the  meantime  to  give  due 
attention  to  my  missions,  and  have,  hence,  in 
the  year  past,  sent  out  but  nineteen  mission- 
aries instead  of  an  average  of  thirty  each  for 
three  years  preceding.  Meantime  all  this 
wonderful  business  of  founding  missions  in 
South  America  has  been  transacted,  and  I 
cannot  yet  for  some  weeks  learn  through  the 
mails   how  far  my  unsuspecting  missionaries 


Conclusions  and  Suggestions.       475 

and  their  people  may  have  been  influenced 
by  all  the  proceedings  of  our  high  officials; 
and,  of  course,  I  have  been  uneasy,  and  cried 
over  the  situation  through  many  midnight 
hours,  and  have  laid  it  all  where  I  remain, 
as  a  little  child,  in  the  arms  of  Jesus.  Eichard 
Grant,  of  Jersey  City,  during  my  absence,  built 
a  prophet's  room  for  me,  and  he  and  his  family 
being  away  in  their  summer  retreat,  I  have 
been  in  this  writing  all  alone  with  God,  and 
have  cried  aloud  to  him  as  in  the  primeval 
forests  of  my  youth. 

"  In  the  face  of  such  complications  what  do 
you  advise  ? " 

1.  I  advise,  first,  that  no  person  entertain  hard 
feelings,  or  indulge  in  reproachful  words  against 
the  Board  of  Bishops,  nor  against  the  Mission- 
ary Committee,  nor  against  the  secretaries ;  for, 
as  we  have  seen  by  the  Episcopal  letters  I  have 
produced,  they  are  simply  discharging  what 
they  believe  to  be  the  duties  laid  upon  them 
by  the  Church.  I  have  been  so  fully  occupied 
with  the  practical  details  of  soldier  life  at  the 
front,  that  I  have  never  seen  this  so  plainly  as 
I  have  since  I  sat  down  to  write  this  book.  All 
those  dear  men  are  worthy  of  the  confidence  of 
our  people,  which,  of  course,  they  have. 


476  Self-Suppokting  Mission's. 

2.  Do  not  withhold,  but  largely  increase 
your  donations  to  the  Missionary  Treasury,  for 
it  will  require  fifty  times  more  money,  and 
more  men  than  they  have  ever  received  or  sent, 
to  overtake  the  demands  of  the  great  benevo- 
lent work  God  has  given  them  to  do. 

3.  Don't  blame  the  Church,  nor  her  law- 
making body,  the  General  Conference,  for  they 
are  but  in  their  apprenticeship  yet  in  the  mis- 
sionary business,  and  naturally  enough  have 
followed  the  illustrious  example  of  all  the  older 
Churches  who  have  been  so  long  in  the  field 
and  have  already  excelled  some  of  them  in 
missionary  achievement. 

"  But,  have  you  not  been  blaming  all  these 
in  this  book  ? " 

No.  As  before  stated  and  repeated,  I  have 
not  been  writing  ^bout  men  at  all,  and  hence 
have  avoided  the  names  of  any  who  might  sup- 
pose that  I  was  hitting  at  them.  I  have  been 
discussing  principles  and  methods  pertaining 
to  the  salvation  of  the  world,  and  have  given  but 
a  few  glimpses  of  my  ten-years'  voyage,  guided 
by  the  old  gospel  chart,  through  unexploi'ed  seas; 
and  already,  above  the  darkness  of  the  storm- 
clouds  that  envelop  us  at  this  eventful  hour,  I 
see  the  dawi?"  of  a  new  missionary  epoch. 


COITCLUSION'S    AND    SUGGESTIONS.  477 

For  about  two  hundred  years  God  lias  been 
specially  preparing  tbe  way  for  this  very  tbing. 
He  has  introduced  no  new  principles  nor  meth- 
ods, but  is  intent  on  an  application  of  his  old 
ones  as  revealed  in  his  book  long  ago.  He  does 
not  wish  to  displace  his  great  charity  missions, 
but  he  intends  to  send  his  Gospel  to  the  self- 
supporting  classes  of  all  nations  as  I  have 
shown,  on  the  fundamental  principles  of  self- 
support,  which  I  have  eliminated  from  his 
book.  He  has  laid  the  responsibility  of  in- 
itiating this  advance  movement  on  a  few 
Methodist  men  and  women,  and  has  thus  far 
given  the  fruits  of  it  mainly  to  the  Methodist 
Church.  He  will  not  conduct  the  advance 
movement  under  a  sectarian  flag,  but  if  the 
Methodists  will  work  with  God  on  his  broad 
principles  in  this  march  for  the  conquest  of  the 
nations,  they  shall  continue  to  reap  plenteously 
according  as  they  shall  sow. 

This  involves  no  reflection  on  the  Churches 
or  their  missionary  societies.  They  have  done 
grand  preparatory  work  for  this  advance 
movement.  The  Wesleyan  Methodists  every- 
where lay  down  a  sound  doctrinal  base  for  soul- 
saving,  and  they  thoroughly  drill  their  people 
at  home  and  abroad  in  the  principle  and  prac- 


478  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

tice  of  systematic  giving  of  money  for  tlie 
Lord's  work. 

After  a  tug  of  forty  years,  in  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  the  missionaries  of  the  American 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  were  signally  suc- 
cessful. The  noble  missionaries  of  the  same 
honored  Board  are  advancing  on  that  line  in 
their  Central,  Western  and  Eastern  Turkey 
missions.  The  Baptists  are  noted  for  economi- 
cal and  successful  missions. 

Se  Sec  Ung,  and  a  few  others  of  our  own 
missionaries  in  China,  have  stepped  up,  and 
moved  off   on  the  high  plane  of   self-support. 

The  Lord  has  commenced  a  number  of  mis- 
sions on  the  principle  of  self-support,  but  hith- 
erto they  have  all  been  subjugated  and  ab- 
sorbed by  the  great  mission  movements  based 
on  the  charity  principle.  Now  he  has  under- 
taken to  establish  a  Self-supporting  Mission 
which  will  not  attempt  to  swallow  any  other 
mission,  nor  consent  to  be  swallowed  by  any 
other,  though  that  is  just  what  our  missionary 
administration  has  undertaken  to  do,  and  will 
force  us  in  self-defense  to  erect  our  quills  like 
a  great  Asiatic  porcupine. 

Let  our  next  General  Conference  prayerfully 
read  and  study  the  discussion  and  solution  of 


CONCLUSIOITS    AND    SUGGESTIONS.  479 

this  same  problem,  as  reported  by  Luke  in  tlie 
fifteentli  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
and  let  them  act  accordingly,  and  so  legislate 
that  it  shall  be  lawful  in  our  Church  for  God 
to  found  SeK-supporting  Missions  wheresoever 
and  by  whomsoever  he  pleaseth ;  and  that  any 
such  missions,  fulfilling  our  conditions  of 
Church  membership,  shall  be  admitted  as 
primary  missions,  or  as  organized  Conferences 
into  loyal  and  royal  relationship  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  directly  through 
the  General  Conference,  and  not  through  a 
pupilage  under  the  Missionary  Society. 

Let  those  plain  gospel  principles  for  self- 
support — "  one  and  two  " — ^be  legally  recognized 
as  God's  principles,  hence  based  on  essential 
laws,  and  being,  in  their  true  relations,  as  en- 
during and  as  reliable  as  the  laws  themselves. 

Let  the  legitimate  sphere  of  "]N^o.  3,"  or  the 
charity  principle,  be  legally  recognized  and 
fixed,  and  then  God  will  bestow  greater  honor 
upon  it  than  ever  before  in  the  prosecution  of 
its  heaven-given  commission. 

"When  God  establishes  a  work  on  his  primary 
plan,  under  principles  "  one  and  two,"  as  he  did 
in  Antigua,  through  the  agency  of  Nathaniel 
Gilbert    and   John    Baxter,    and    among   the 


480  Self-Supporting  Missions. 

Wyandots  of  Ohio  by  John  Stuart,  let  the  self- 
supporting  agency  and  resources  through  which 
God  may  be  pleased  to  give  birth  to  such  move- 
ments be  utilized  under  regular  self-supporting 
church  organization,  regardless  of  country  or 
nationality ;  and  let  it  be  unlaw^ful  to  put  such 
a  work  indiscriminately  under  the  control  of  a 
missionary  society ;  and  let  the  Churches  that 
God  shall  found  in  foreign  fields  be  invested 
as  soon  as  possible  with  all  the  functions  essen- 
tial to  a  Church  of  God  anywhere, 

"  0  for  til  is  holy  dawninef 

"We  watch  and  wait  and  pray, 
Till  o'er  the  height  the  morning  light 

Shall  drive  the  gloom  away ; 
And  when  the  heavenly  glory 

Shall  flood  the  earth  and  sky, 
We'll  bless  the  Lord  for  all  his  word, 

And  praise  him  by  and  by." 


APPENDIX, 


It  was  my  purpose  to  insert  here  in  detail  all  the 
amounts  contributed  to  the  Transit  Fund  from  its  com- 
mencement, with  the  names  and  residences  of  all  the 
contributors,  whose  names  were  given,  but  already  my 
book  contains  a  hundred  pages  more  than  I  designed. 
To  carry  out  my  purpose  in  regard  to  the  Appendix, 
would  unduly  increase  the  size  and  cost  of  the  book, 
so  I  will  furnish  an  aggregate  statement  simply  of  all 
receipts  and  disbursements  for  each  year,  with  the 
name  and  foreign  field  of  each  missionary.  The  names 
of  all  the  contributors,  and  the  amounts  sent  to  John  S. 
Inskip,  W.  C.  Palmer,  and  Wm.  McDonald,  were  ac- 
knowledged, as  they  came  to  hand,  in  the  "  Christian 
Standard  and  Home  Journal,"  in  "  The  Guide  to  Holi- 
ness," and  in  "  The  Advocate  of  Holiness." 

All  those  names,  together  with  the  names  of  all  who 
gave  transit  funds  to  me,  and  all  the  amounts  they 
represent,  are  preserved  in  the  books  of  my  recording 
secretary,  Mrs.  Anderson  Fowler,  New  York. 

FIRST  YEAR. 

{From  May,  1878,  to  May,  1819.) 

Total  receipts  from  all  sources $8,403  46 

Total  expenditure  for  the  passage  of  thirty 
missionaries  and  their  outfit,  and  school 

lurniture 8,159  11 

Balance 244  35 

$8,403  4e 


482  Appet^dix. 

The  names  and  fields  of  the  missionaries  were  as 
follows  : 

I.  South  America. 

Tacna,  Peru.— a.  P.  Stowell,  B. A. ;  Mrs.  A.  P.  Stowell,  Miss  Cora 
B.  Benson. 

CoNCEPCiON,  Chile. — W.  A.  Wright,  Ph.  B. ;  Miss  Sallie  B.  Long- 
ley,  B.  S. ;  Miss  Lelia  H.  Waterhouse,  B.S. 

Iquique,  Peru.— J.  W.  CoUyer,  B.A. ;  Miss  Edith  Collyer. 

CoQuiMBO,  Chile. — J.  W.  Higgins,  B.A. 

Valparaiso,  Chile. — Ira  H.  La  Petra,  B.A. 

CoPiAPO,  Chile. — Lucius  C.  Smith,  B.A. ;  Mrs.  Lucius  C.  Smith, 
Mrs.  Yasbinder. 

Aspinwall,  U.  S.  of  Colombia. — C.  A.  Birdsall,  B.A.;  Mrs.  C.  A. 
Birdsall,  E.  L.  Latham. 

Antofagasta,  Bolivia.— a.  T.  Jefifrey,  B.A. ;  Mrs.  A.  T.  Jeffrey. 

Mellendo,  Peru.— Magnus  Smith,  B.  A.  ;  Mrs.  Magnus  Smith. 

German  Colonies,  near  Patagonia,  Chile. — Oscar  Krouser,  Henry 
Hofmann,  Mrs.  Henry  Hofmann. 

Lima,  etc.— J.  P.  Gilliland,  Mrs.  J.  P.  GilUland. 

II.  India. 
Bellary. — Miss  Welch. 
Bombay. — Hiram  Torbit,  B,  A. 
Agra.— J.  W.  Gamble,  B.A. 
Rangoon,  Burmah.— R.  E.  Carter,  B.A.;  Mrs.  R.  E.  Carter,  B.A. 

SECOND   YEAR. 

{Extending  to  June,  1880.) 

Total  receipts  from  all  sources $11,396  46 

Total  disbursement  for  passage  and  outfit 

and  school  furniture $10,384  29 

Balance 1,012  17 

$11,396  46 

Twenty-eight  missionaries  sent  that  year  as  follows  : 

I.  South  America. 

Aspinwall,  TJ.  S.  of  Colombia. — Mrs.  E.  L.  Latham. 
Guayaquil,  Eucador. — Philip  Price,  B.A. 


Appendix.  483 

Para,  Brazil. — Justus  H.  Nelson,  M.A.;  Mrs.  Justus  H.  Nelson, 
Walter  Gregg,  B.A. 

Tacna,  Peru. — Fletcher  Humphrey,  B.  S. ;  Mrs.  Fletcher  Humph- 
rey, B.S. 

II.  India. 

To  be  appointed  to  their  fields  by  the  Conference  : 
James  Lyon,  B.S. ;  Ira  A.  Richards,  B.A. ;  Henry  F.  Kastendieck, 
B.A.;  0.  Shreves,  M.  Y.  Bovard,  B.  S.;  M.  B.  Kirk,  B.  A.;  WellingLoa 
Bowser,  B.  A. ;  G-.  I.  Stone,  Mrs.  G.  I.  Stone,  Mrs.  Lillie  Birdsall, 
Miss  Mollie  MUler,  Miss  Sallie  Winslow,  G.  W.  Woodall,  Mrs.  G.  W. 
"Woodall,  George  A.  Greenig,  W.  H.  Stevens,  "W.  H.  Bruere,  John  D. 
Webb,  A.  A.  Kidder,  S.  P.  Jacobs,  M.A.;  Mrs.  S.  P.  Jacobs. 


THIRD  YEAR. 

{Ending  in  June,  1881.) 

Total  receipts  from  all  sources $11,640  96 

Total  disbursements  for  the  purposes  of  the 

fund $11,111  60 

Balance 529  36 

$11,640  96 

Thirty-four  missionaries  sent  during  that  year. 

I.  South  America. 

Santiago,  Chili. — Miss  Addie  H.  Whitfield,  B.  A. ;  Miss  Lizzie 
Kipp,  Miss  Kinsman,  I.  H.  Schively,  Millard  Lemon,  B.  A. 

Pernambuco,  Brazil. — W.  T.  Robinson,  M.  A.,  and  wife;  Wray 
Beattie,  M.  D.,  Ph.D.;  George  W.  Martin,  B.  A.,  and  wife;  Charles 
Shelton  and  wife. 

Maranhao,  Brazil. — B.  W.  Coiner  and  wife. 

Bahia,  Brazil. — I.  J.  Woodin  and  wife. 

Concepcion,  Chili. — Miss  Esther  L.  Spink,  Miss  Sarah  E.  Potter, 
George  M.  Jeffrey,  B.  A.;  Miss  Martha  Boyce,  Miss  Mary  E.  Elkins. 

Panama,  United  States  of  Colombia. — Richard  Copp. 

Para,  Brazil.— John  N.  Nelson,  B.  A  ;  Miss  Hattie  Batchelder, 
B.  S.;  Miss  Clara  Blunt,  B.  S.;   Miss  Hattie  Curtis. 

Central  America. 
San  Jose,  Costa  Rica.— John  E.  Wright,  B.  A. 


484  Appendix. 

II.  India. 
J.  Sumner  Stone,   M.  D.;  Charles  A.  Martin,  B.  A.;   Thomas  H. 
Oakes,  B.  D.;  Miss  Nana  Smith,  B.  S.;  Miss  M.  J.  Edna  Taylor,  B.  S.; 
Mrs.  Wellington  Browser,  Albert  H.  Baker. 

FOURTH  YEAR. 
{Ending  with  June,  1882.) 

Total  receipts  from  all  sources ^1]  094  87 

Total  disbursements  lor  all  purposes  of  the 

fund $8,324  21 

Balance 2,770  66 

$11,094  87 

Missionaries  sent  to  self-supporting  fields  for  the 
year  ending  June,  1882: 

I.  South  America. 

COQUIMBO,  C  ILL — Miss  Rachel  Holding. 

Santiago,  Chili. — Miss  Lizzie  Holding,  "William  A.  Wright,  Mrs. 
W.  A.  Wright,  A.  W.  Farwell,  Miss  Nettie  0.  Ogden. 

Panama,  United  States  of  Colombia. — Professor  Rouse. 

AspiNWALL,  United  States  op  Colombia. — B.  S.  Taylor,  Mrs. 
B.  S.  Taylor. 

Para,  Brazil. — J.  Willett  Nelson,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Nelson. 

Pernambuco,  Brazil. — George  B.  Nind,  F.  F.  Roose,  Mrs.  F,  F, 
Roose. 

II.  India. 

Calcutta. — Yernon  E.  Bennett,  Mrs.  Charles  Martin,  Mrs.  J.  M. 
Thoburn,  J.  A.  Wilson. 

Nizam's  Dominions. — D.  0.  Ernsberger. 

Note. — Mrs.  Anderson  Fowler  is  my  Recording  Secretary;  address. 
No.  60  East  68th- street.  New  York.  My  Executive  Agent,  Richard 
Grant,  No.  326  Pavonia  Avenue,  Jersey  City,  New  Jersey.  My 
Treasurer  and  principal  Collector  of  the  Transit  Fund,  Rev.  J.  S. 
Inskip,  921  Arch-street,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Assistant  Treasurers,  Dr. 
W.  C,  Palmer,  62  and  64  Bible  House,  New  York,  and  Rev.  Wm. 
McDonald,  36  Brorafield-street,  Boston.  These  Treasurers  acknowl- 
edge all  receipts  for  Transit  Fund  in  every  issue  of  the  periodicals 
of  which  they  are  the  Editors.  All  these  give  their  services  for  their 
love  of  Self-supporting  Missions,  and  contribute  liberally  besides. 


Date  Due 


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